as? 
DAVID  P.  PAGE. 


TEACHERS  IMPROVEMENT  <  U. 


THEORY    AND    PRACTICE 


OF 


TEACHING; 


OR, 


THE   MOTIVES   AND   METHODS   OF    GOOD 
SCHOOL-KEEPING. 


DAVID  P.  PAGE,  A  M., 

I./ATE  PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL, 
ALBANY,  NEW  YORK, 


TO  WHICH   IS   ADDED  A 


DEPARTMENT  OF  QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS  ON 
THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


DANSVILLE,  N.  Y.: 

TEACHERS  IMPROVEMENT  Co. 

1895- 


6AKTA   BARBARA.   CAL1P. 


Copyright,  1895, 

By  Teachers  Improvement  Co., 

Dansville,  N.  Y. 


PUBLISHER'S  PREFACE. 


IN  presenting  this  edition  of  Page's  Theory  and  Practice 
of  Teaching  to  the  public,  the  publishers  offer  no  excuse 
or  explanation  other  than  a  desire  to  more  widely  circu- 
late the  one  book  on  this  important  subject,  which  has 
stood  as  a  standard  for  nearly  fifty  years.  Perhaps  no 
higher  evidence  of  its  value  has  ever  been  given  than  its 
recent  recommendation  by  the  Department  of  Public 
Instruction  of  New  York  State  as  one  of  the  books  which 
teachers  must  study  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  Uniform 
Examinations  and  properly  fit  themselves  for  their  work. 

To  the  original  work,  here  reproduced,  is  added  a 
valuable  department  of  Questions  and  Answers  on  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Teaching.  If,  by  the  publication  of  this 
edition  of  this  world-renowned  book,  any  considerable 
number  of  teachers  are  enabled  to  better  equip  them- 
selves for  their  work,  our  object  will  have  been  accom- 
plished. 

TEACHERS  IMPROVEMENT  CO. 

DANSVILLE,  N.  Y.,  November,  1895. 


PREFACE. 


MANY  a  meritorious  book  has  failed  to  find  readers  by 
reason  of  a  toilsome  preface.  If  the  following  volume 
meets  a  similar  fate,  whatever  its  merits,  it  shall  lack  a 
like  excuse. 

This  work  has  had  its  origin  in  a  desire  to  contribute 
something  toward  elevating  an  important  and  rising 
profession.  Its  matter  comprises  the  substance  of  a  part 
of  the  course  of  lectures  addressed  to  the  classes  of  the 
Institution  under  my  charge,  during  the  past  two  years. 
Those  lectures  unwritten  at  first,  were  delivered  in  a 
familiar,  colloquial  style — their  main  object  being  the 
inculcation  of  such  practical  views  as  would  best  pro- 
mote the  improvement  of  the  teacher.  In  writing  the 
matter  out  for  the  press,  the  same  style,  to  considerable 
extent,  has  been  retained,  as  I  have  written  with  an  aim 
at  usefulness  rather  than  rhetorical  effect. 

If  the  term  theory  in  the  title  suggests  to  any  mind 
the  bad  sense  sometimes  conveyed  by  that  word,  I  would 
simply  say  that  I  have  not  been  dealing  in  the  specula- 
tive dreams  of  the  closet,  but  in  convictions  derived 
from  the  realities  cxf  the  school-room  during  some  twenty 
years  of  actual  service  as  a  teacher.  Theory  may  justly 
mean  the  science  distinguished  from  the  art  of  Teaching ; 
but  as  in  practice  these  should  never  be  divorced,  so  in 


PREFACE.  5 

the  following  chapters  I  have  endeavored  constantly  to 
illustrate  the  one  by  the  other. 

If  life  should  be  spared  and  other  circumstances  should 
warrant  the  undertaking,  perhaps  a  further  course  com- 
prising the  "  Details  of  Teaching  "  may,  at  some  future 
time,  assume  a  similar  form  to  complete  my  original 
design. 

DAVID  P.  PAGE. 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,      ) 
Albany^  N.   Y.,  Jan,  i,  184.7.  ) 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SriRiT  OK  THE  TEACHER 9 

CHAPTER   II. 

RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER 13 

SECTION  I. — The  Neglected  Tree 13 

SECTION  II. — Extent  of  Responsibility 17 

SECTION  III. — The  Auburn  Prison 31 

CHAPTER  III. 

HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER 36 

CHAPTER  IV. 

LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER 45 

CHAPTER  V. 

RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION 59 

CHAPTER  VI. 

RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING 68 

SECTION  I. — Pouring-in  Process 70 

SECTION  II. — Drawing-out  Process 72 

SECTION  III.— The  More  Excellent  Way 76 

SECTION  IV. — Waking  up  Mind 78 

SECTION  V. — Remarks 89 

CHAPTER  VII. 

CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS 94 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY 108 

SIM  n ON  I. — Incentives — Emulation log 

SECTION  II. — Prizes  and  Rewards 115 

SECTION  III. — Proper  Incentives ...  126 

CHAPTER  IX. 

SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 134 

SECTION  I. — Requisites  in  the  Teacher  for  Government 134 

SECTION  II. — Means  of  Securing  Good  Order 143 

SECTION  III. — Punishments — Improper — Proper 1 59 

SECTION  IV. — Corporal  Punishment 175 

SECTION  V. — Limitations  and  Suggestions „ 187 

CHAPTER  X. 

SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS 195 

SECTION  I.— Plan  of  Day's  Work 200 

SECTION  II. — Interruptions 208 

SECTION  III. — Recesses 212 

SECTION  IV. — Assignment  of  Lessons 214 

SECTION  V. — Reviews 216 

SECTION  VI. — Examinations — Exhibitions — Celebrations 218 

CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  PARENTS  OF  His  PUPILS 222 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  His  HEALTH 229 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  His  PROFESSION 241 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS 260 

SECTION  I. — Things  to  be  Avoided 260 

SECTION  II. — Things  to  be  Performed 274 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER 296 


THEORY    AND    PRACTICE    OF    TEACHING. 


CHAPTER    I. 
SPIRIT  OF  THE  TEACHER. 

The  True  Spirit. — Perhaps  the  very  first  question 
that  the  honest  individual  will  ask  himself,  as  he  proposes 
to  assume  the  teacher's  office,  or  to  enter,,  upon  a 
preparation  for  it,  will  be  "  What  manner  of  spirit  am  I 
of?  "  No  question  can  be  more  important.  I  would  by 
no  means  undervalue  that  degree  of  natural  talent — of 
mental  power,  which  all  justly  consider  so  desirable  in 
the  candidate  for  the  teacher's  office.  But  the  true 
spirit  of  the  teacher — a  spirit  that  seeks  not  alone  pecuni- 
ary emolument,  but  desires  to  be  in  the  highest  degree 
useful  to  those  who  are  to  be  taught ;  a  spirit  that  elevates 
above  everything  else  the  nature  and  capabilities  of  the 
human  soul,  and  that  trembles  under  the  responsibility 
of  attempting  to  be  its  educator  ;  a  spirit  that  looks  upon 
gold  as  the  contemptible  dross  of  earth,  when  compared 
with  that  imperishable  gem  which  is  to  be  polished  and 
brought  out  into  heaven's  light  to  shine  forever  ;  a  spirit 
that  scorns  all  the  rewards  of  earth,  and  seeks  that 
highest  of  all  rewards,  an  approving  conscience  and  an 
approving  God ;  a  spirit  that  earnestly  inquires  what  is 
right,  and  that  dreads  to  do  what  is  wrong ;  a  spirit  that 
can  recognize  and  reverence  the  handiwork  of  God  in 
every  child,  and  that  burns  with  the  desire  to  be  instru- 
mental in  training  it  to  the  highest  attainment  of  which 


10  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

it  is  capable,  — such  a  spirit  is  the  first  thing  to  be  sought 
by  the  teacher,  and  without  it  the  highest  talent  cannot 
make  him  truly  excellent  in  his  profession. 

The  candidate  for  the  office  of  teacher  should  look 
well  to  his  motives.  It  is  easy  to  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  the  teacher  without  preparation  ;  it  is  easy  to  do  it 
without  that  lofty  purpose  which  an  enlightened  con- 
science would  ever  demand  ;  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
undo  the  mischief  which  a  single  mistake  may  produce 
in  the  mind  of  the  child  at  that  tender  period  when 
mistakes  are  most  likely  to  be  made. 

Motives  Often  Wrong. — Too  many  teachers  are  found 
in  our  schools  without  the  spirit  for  their  work  which  is 
here  insisted  on.  They  not  only  have  not  given  attention 
to  any  preparation  for  their  work,  but  resort  to  it  from 
motives  of  personal  convenience,  and  in  many  instances 
from  a  consciousness  of  being  unfit  for  everything  else. 
In  other  professions  this  is  not  so.  The  lawyer  is  not 
admitted  to  the  bar  till  he  has  pursued  a  course  of 
thorough  preparation,  and  even  then  but  warily  employed. 
The  physician  goes  through  his  course  of  reading  and 
his  course  of  lectures,  and  often  almost  through  a  course 
of  starvation  in  the  country  village  where  he  first  puts  up 
his  sign,  before  he  is  called  in  to  heal  the  maladies  of  the 
body.  It  is  long  before  he  can  inspire  confidence  enough 
in  the  people  to  be  intrusted  with  their  most  difficult 
cases  of  ailing,  and  very  likely  the  noon  of  life  is  passed 
before  he  can  consider  himself  established.  But  it  is  not 
so  with  the  teacher.  He  gains  access  to  the  sanctuary  of 
the  mind  without  any  difficulty,  and  the  most  tender 
interests  for  both  worlds  are  intrusted  to  his  guidance, 
even  when  he  makes  pretension  to  no  higher  motive  than 
that  of  filling  up  a  few  months  of  time  not  otherwise 


SPIRIT  OF  THE  TEACHER.  11 

appropriated,  and  to  no  qualifications  but  those  attained 
by  accident.  A  late  writer  in  the  "  Journal  of  Educa- 
tion "  hardly  overstates  this  matter :  "  Every  stripling 
who  has  passed  four  years  within  the  walls  of  a  college  ; 
every  dissatisfied  clerk  -who  has  not  ability  enough  to 
manage  the  trifling  concerns  of  a  common  retail-shop  ; 
every  young  farmer  who  obtains  in  the  winter  a  short 
vacation  from  the  toils  of  summer — in  short,  every  young 
person  who  is  conscious  of  his  imbecility  in  other  business, 
esteems  himself  fully  competent  to  train  the  ignorance 
and  weakness  of  infancy  into  all  the  virtue  and  power 
and  wisdom  of  maturer  years — to  form  a  creature,  the 
frailest  and  feeblest  that  heaven  has  made,  into  the 
intelligent  and  fearless  sovereign  of  the  whole  animated 
creation,  the  interpreter  and  adorer  and  almost  the 
representative  of  Divinity  !  " 

Many  Make  Teaching  a  Secondary  Object.  — Many 
there  are  who  enter  upon  the  high  employment  of  teach- 
ing a  common  school  as  a  secondary  object.  Perhaps 
they  are  students  themselves  in  some  higher  institution, 
and  resort  to  this  as  a  temporary  expedient  for  paying 
their  board,  while  their  chief  object  is  to  pursue  their 
own  studies,  and  thus  keep  pace  with  their  classes.  Some 
make  it  a  stepping-stone  to  something  beyond,  and,  in 
their  estimation,  higher  in  the  scale  of  respectability — 
treating  the  employment,  while  in  it,  as  irksome  in  the 
extreme,  and  never  manifesting  so  much  delight  as  when 
the  hour  arrives  for  the  dismissal  of  their  schools.  Such 
have  not  the  true  spirit  of  the  teacher ;  and  if  their 
labors  are  not  entirely  unprofitable,  it  only  proves  that 
children  are  sometimes  submitted  to  imminent  danger, 
but  are  still  unaccountably  preserved  by  the  hand  of 
Providence. 


12  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Ignorance  Does  Not  Excuse  Mistakes.  —  The 
teacher  should  go  to  his  duty  full  of  his  work.  He  should 
be  impressed  with  its  overwhelming  importance.  He 
should  feel  that  his  mistakes,  though  they  may  not 
speedily  ruin  him,  may  permanently  injure  his  pupils. 
Nor  is  it  enough  that  he  shall  say,  "  I  did  it  ignorantly." 
He  has  assumed  to  fill  a  place  where  ignorance  itself  is 
sin  ;  and  where  indifference  to  the  well-being  of  others 
is  equivalent  to  willful  homicide.  He  might  as  innocently 
assume  to  be  the  physician,  and,  without  knowing  its 
effects,  prescribe  arsenic  for  the  colic.  Ignorance  is  not 
in  such  cases  a  valid  excuse,  because  the  assumption  of  the 
place  implies  a  pretension  to  the  requisite  skill.  Let  the 
teacher  then  well  consider  what  manner  of  spirit  he  is  of. 
Let  him  come  to  this  work  only  when  he  has  carefully 
pondered  its  nature  and  its  responsibilities,  and  after  he 
has  devoted  his  best  powers  to  a  thorough  preparation  of 
himself  for  its  high  duties.  Above  all,  let  him  be  sure 
that  his  motives  on  entering  the  schoolroom  are  such  as 
will  be  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God,  when  viewed  by 
the  light  beaming  out  from  His  throne. 

"  Oh  !   let  not  then  unskillful  hands  attempt 
To  play  the  harp  whose  tones,  whose  living  tones, 
Are  left  forever  in  the  strings.       Better  far 
That  heaven's  lightnings  blast  his  very  soul, 
And  »ink  it  back  to  Chaos'  lowest  depths, 
Than  knowingly,  by  word  or  deed,  he  send 
A  blight  upon  the  trusting  mind  of  youth." 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  18 


CHAPTER    II. 
RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER. 

SECTION    I. — A   NEGLECTED   PEAR   TREE. 

His  Garden.— Some  years  ago,  while  residing  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Massachusetts,  I  was  the  owner  of  a 
small  garden.  I  had  taken  much  pains  to  improve  the 
condition  and  appearance  of  the  place.  A  woodbine  had 
been  carefully  trained  upon  the  front  of  the  little  home- 
stead ;  a  fragrant  honeysuckle,  supported  by  a  trellis, 
adorned  the  doorway ;  a  moss-rose,  a  flowering  almond, 
and  the  lily  of  the  valley,  mingled  their  fragrance  in  the 
breath  of  morn — and  never,  in  my  estimation  at  least, 
did  the  sun  shine  upon  a  lovelier,  happier  spot.  The 
morning  hour  was  spent  in  "  dressing  and  keeping " 
the  garden.  Its  vines  were  daily  watched  and  care- 
fully trained ;  its  borders  were  free  from  weeds,  and  the 
plants  expanded  their  leaves  and  opened  their  buds  as  if 
smiling  at  the  approach  of  the  morning  sun.  There  were 
fruit  trees,  too,  which  had  been  brought  from  far,  and  so 
carefully  nurtured  that  they  were  covered  with  blossoms, 
filling  the  air  with  their  fragrance  and  awakening  the 
fondest  hopes  of  an  abundant  harvest. 

Neglected  Pear  Tree. — In  one  corner  of  this  minia 
ture  paradise  there  was  a  hop-trellis,  and  in  the  midst  of 
a  bed  of  tansy  hard  by  stood  a  small,  knotty,  crooked 
pear  tree.  It  had  stood  there  I  know  not  how  long.  It 
was  very  diminutive  in  size  ;  but,  like  those  cedars  which 
one  notices  high  up  the  mountain,  just  on  the  boundary 


14  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

between  vegetation  and  eternal  frost,  it  had  every  mark 
of  the  decrepitude  of  age. 

Why  should  this  tree  stand  here  so  unsightly  and 
unfruitful?  Why  had  it  escaped  notice  so  long?  Its 
bark  had  become  bound  and  cracked ;  its  leaves  were 
smalled  and  curled ;  and  those,  small  as  they  were,  were 
ready  to  be  devoured  by  a  host  of  caterpillars,  whose 
pampered  bodies  were  already  grown  to  the  length  of  an 
inch.  The  tendrils  of  the  hop  vine  had  crept  about  its 
thorny  limbs  and  were  weighing  down  its  growth,  while 
the  tansy  at  its  roots  drank  up  the  refreshing  dew  and 
shut  out  the  genial  ray.  //  was  a  neglected  tree  ! 

Pruning  Commenced. — "  Why  may  not  this  tree  be 
pruned  ?  "  No  sooner  said  than  the  small  saw  was  taken 
from  its  place  and  the  work  was  commenced.  Com- 
menced? It  was  hard  to  determine  where  to  commence. 
Its  knotty  branches  had  grown  thick  and  crooked,  and 
there  was  scarcely  space  to  get  the  saw  between  them. 
They  all  seemed  to  deserve  amputation,  but  then  the 
tree  would  have  no  top.  This  and  that  limb  were  lopped 
off  as  the  case  seemed  to  demand.  The  task  was  neither 
easy  nor  pleasant.  Sometimes  a  violent  stroke  would 
bring  down  upon  my  own  head  a  shower  of  the  filthy 
caterpillars;  again,  the  long-cherished  garden-c,oat — 
threadbare  and  faded  as  it  was — got  caught,  and  before 
it  could  be  disengaged,  what  an  unsightly  rent  had  been 
made  !  With  pain  I  toiled  on,  for  one  of  the  unlucky 
thorns  had  pierced  my  thumb ;  and  I  might  have  been 
said  to  be  working  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion  ! 

The  hop  vine,  however,  was  removed  from  its  boughs, 
the  tansy  and  weeds  from  its  roots,  the  scales  and  mosls 
from  its  bark.  The  thorns  were  carefully  pared  from  its 
limbs,  and  the  caterpillars  were  all  shaken  from  its 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  15 

leaves.  The  mould  was  loosened  and  enriched — and  the 
sun  shone  that  day  upon  a  long  neglected,  but  now  a  promis- 
ing tree. 

Grafting  of  a  Bartlett  Pear. — The  time  for  grafting 
was  not  yet  passed.  One  reputedly  skilled  in  that  art  was 
called  to  put  the  new  scion  upon  the  old  stock.  The 
work  was  readily  undertaken  and  speedily  accomplished, 
and  the  assurance  was  given  that  the  BARTLETT  PEAR — 
that  prince  among  the  fruits  of  New  England — would  one 
day  be  gathered  from  my  neglected  tree. 

Heart  Gladdened. — With  what  interest  I  watched  the 
buds  of  the  scion,  morning  after  morning,  as  the  month 
grew  warmer,  and  vegetation  all  around  was  "  bursting 
into  birth !  "  With  what  delight  did  I  greet  the  first 
opening  of  those  buds,  and  how  did  I  rejoice  as  the  young 
shoots  put  forth  and  grew  into  a  fresh,  green  top  !  With 
tender  solicitude  I  cherished  this  tree  for  two  long  sum- 
mers ;  and,  on  the  opening  of  the  third,  my  heart  was 
gladdened  with  the  sight  of  its  first  fruit  blossoms.  With 
care  were  the  weeds  excluded,  the  caterpillars  extermi- 
nated, the  hop-vine  clipped,  the  bark  rubbed  and  washed, 
the  earth  manured  and  watered. 

Chagrin  and  Mortification. — The  time  of  fruit  ar- 
rived. The  Bartlett  pear  was  offered  in  our  market — but 
my  pears  were  not  yet  ripe !  With  anxious  care  they 
were  watched  till  the  frost  bade  the  green  leaves  wither, 
and  then  they  were  carefully  gathered  and  placed  in  the 
sunbeams  within  doors.  They  at  length  turned  yellow, 
'and  looked  fair  to  the  sight  and  tempting  to  the  taste ;  and 
a  few  friends,  who  had  known  their  history,  were  invited 
to  partake  of  them.  They  were  brought  forward,  care- 
fully arranged  in  the  best  dish  the  humble  domicile 
afforded,  and  formally  introduced  as  the  first  fruits  of  the 


16  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

"  neglected  tree"  What  was  my  chargin  and  mortifica- 
tion, after  all  my  pains  and  solicitude,  after  all  my  hopes 
and  fond  anticipations,  to  find  they  were  miserable,  taste- 
less— choke-pears. 

May  be  Neglected  Trees  in  the  Moral  Garden. — 
This  pear-tree  has  put  me  upon  thinking.  It  has  sug- 
gested that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  moral  garden,  in 
which  there  may  be  fair  flowers  indeed,  but  also  some 
neglected  trees.  The  plants  in  this  garden  may  suffer  very 
much  from  neglect — from  neglect  of  the  gardner.  It  is 
deplorable  to  see  how  many  crooked,  unseemly  branches 
shoot  forth  from  some  of  these  young  trees,  which  early 
might  have  been  trained  to  grow  .straight  and  smooth  by 
the  hand  of  cultivation.  Many  a  youth,  running  on  in 
his  own  way,  indulging  in  deception  and  profanity,  yield- 
ing to  temptation  and  overborne  by  evil  influences,  pollut- 
ing by  his  example  and  wounding  the  hearts  of  his  best 
friends  as  they  yearn  over  him  for  good,  has  reminded 
me  of  my  neglected  tree,  its  caterpillars,  its  roughened  bark, 
its  hop-vine,  its  tansy  bed,  its  cruel  piercing  thorns.  And 
when  I  have  seen  such  a  youth  brought  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  educator,  and  have  witnessed  the  progress 
he  has  made  and  the  intellectual  promise  he  has 
given,  I  have  also  thought  of  my  neglected  tree. 
When,  too,  I  have  followed  him  to  the  years  of 
maturity,  and  have  found,  as  I  have  too  often  found, 
that  he  brings  not  forth  "  the  peaceable  fruits  of 
righteousness,"  but  that  he  disappoints  all  the  fondly 
cherished  hopes  of  his  friends — perhaps  of  his  own  teach- 
ers, because  the  best  principles  were  not  engrafted  upon 
him,  I  again  think  of  my  neglected  tree,  and  of  the  un- 
skillful, perhaps  dishonest  gardener,  who  acted  as  its  re- 
sponsible educator. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  17 

Inferences  to  be  Drawn. — From  the  above  as  a  text, 
several  inferences  might  be  drawn.  I.  Education  is 
necessary  to  develop  the  human  soul.  2.  Education 
should  begin  early.  We  have  too  many  neglected  trees. 
3.  It  should  be  right  education.  And  4.  The  educator 
should  be  a  safe  and  an  honest  man  ;  else  the  education 
may  be  all  wrong — may  be  worse  even  than  the  neglect. 

But  especially  we  may  infer  that — 

SECTION   II. — THE   TEACHER   IS   RESPONSIBLE. 

Teacher  Responsible. — It  is  the  object  of  the  follow- 
ing remarks  feebly  to  illustrate  the  extent  of  the  teacher's 
responsibility.  It  must  all  along  be  borne  in  mind  that 
he  is  not  alone  responsible  for  the  results  of  education. 
The  parent  has  an  overwhelming  responsibility,  which  he 
can  never  part  with  or  transfer  to  another  while  he  holds 
the  relation  of  parent. 

Extent  of  Teacher's  Responsibility. — But  the  teacher 
is  responsible  in  a  very  high  degree.  An  important 
interest  is  committed  to  his  charge  whenever  a  human 
being  is  placed  under  his  guidance.  By  taking  the  posi- 
tion of  the  teacher,  all  the  responsibility  of  the  relation 
is  voluntarily  assumed ;  and  he  is  fearfully  responsible 
not  only  for  what  he  does,  but  also  for  what  he  neglects 
to  do.  And  it  is  a  responsibility  from  which  he  cannot 
escape.  Even  though  he  may  have  thoughtlessly  entered 
upon  the  relation  of  teacher,  without  a  single  glance  at 
its  obligations  ;  or  though,  when  reminded  of  them,  he 
may  laugh  at  the  thought,  and  disclaim  all  idea  of  being 
thus  seriously  held  to  a  fearful  account, — yet  still  the 
responsibility  is  on  him.  Just  as  true  as  it  is  a  great  thing 
to  guide  the  mind  aright, — just  as  true  as  it  is  a  deplora- 
ble, nay,  fatal  thing  to  lead  it  astray,  so  true  is  it  that  he 


18  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

who  attempts  the  work,  whether  ignorant  or  skillful, 
whether  thoughtless  or  serious,  incurs  all  the  responsi- 
bility of  success  or  failure, — a  responsibility  he  can  never 
shake  off  as  long  as  the  human  soul  is  immortal,  and  men 
are  accountable  for  such  consequences  of  their  acts  as  are 
capable  of  being  foreseen. 

The  teacher  is  in   a   degree   responsible  for   the   BODILY 
HEALTH  of  the  child. 

Laws  of  Physical  Health.— It  is  well  established  that 
the  foundation  of  many  serious  diseases  is  laid  in  the 
schoolroom.  These  diseases  come  sometimes  from  a 
neglect  of  exercise ;  sometimes  from  too  long  confine- 
ment in  one  position,  or  upon  one  study ;  sometimes 
from  over-excitement  and  over-study ;  sometimes  from 
breathing  bad  air  ;  sometimes  from  being  kept  too  warm 
or  too  cold.  Now  the  teacher  should  be  an  intelligent 
physiologist ;  and  from  a  knowledge  of  what  the  human 
system  can  bear,  and  what  it  cannot,  he  is  bound  to  be 
ever  watchful  to  guard  against  all  those  abuses  from 
which  our  children  so  often  suffer.  Especially  should  he 
be  tremblingly  alive  to  avert  that  excitability  of  the 
nervous  system,  the  over-action  of  which  is  so  fatal  to 
the  future  happiness  of  the  individual.  And  should  he, 
by  appealing  to  the  most  exciting  motives,  encourage 
the  delicate  child  to  press  on  to  grasp  those  subjects 
which  are  too  great  for  its  comprehension,  and  allow  it 
to  neglect  exercise  in  the  open  air  in  order  to  task  its 
feverish  brain  in  the  crowded  and  badly-ventilated 
schoolroom ;  and  then,  in  a  few  days,  be  called  to  look 
upon  the  languishing  sufferer  upon  a  bed  of  exhaustion 
and  pain — perhaps  a  bed  of  premature  death,  could  he 
say,  "I  am  not  responsible"?  Parents  and  teachers 
often  err  in  this.  They  are  so  eager  to  develop  a  preco- 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  19 

cious  intellect  that  they  crush  the  casket  in  order  to 
gratify  a  prurient  desire  to  astonish  the  world  with  the 
brilliancy  of  the  gem.  Each  is  responsible  for  his  share 
of  this  sin  ;  and  the  teacher  especially,  because,  by  his 
education,  he  should  know  better. 

The  teacher  is  mainly  responsible  for  the  INTELLECTUAL 
GROWTH  of  the  child.  This  may  be  referred  chiefly  to 
the  following  heads  : 

i.  The  Order  of  Study. — There  is  a  natural  order  in 
the  education  of  the  child.  The  teacher  should  know 
this.  If  he  presents  the  subjects  out  of  this  order,  he  is 
responsible  for  the  injury.  In  general,  the  elements 
should  be  taught  first.  Those  simple  branches  which  the 
child  first  comprehends  should  first  be  presented. 

Reading,  of  course,  must  be  one  of  the  first ;  though  I 
think  the  day  is  not  distant  when  an  enlightened  com- 
munity will  not  condemn  the  teacher,  if,  while  teaching 
reading,  he  should  call  the  child's  attention  by  oral 
instructions  to  such  objects  about  him  as  he  can  compre- 
hend, even  though  in  doing  this  he  should  somewhat 
prolong  the  time  of  learning  to  read.  It  is  indeed  of 
little  consequence  that  the  child  should  read  words  simply  ; 
and  that  teacher  may  be  viewed  as  pursuing  the  order  of 
nature  who  so  endeavors  to  develop  the  powers  of 
observation  and  comparison  that  words  when  learned 
shall  be  the  vehicles  of  ideas. 

Next  to  reading  and  its  inseparable  companions, 
Spelling  and  Defining,  I  am  inclined  to  recommend  the 
study  of  Mental  Arithmetic.  The  idea  of  Number  is  one 
of  the  earliest  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  He  can  be 
early  taught  to  count,  and  quite  early  to  perform  those 
operations  which  we  call  adding,  subtracting,  multiplying, 
and  dividing.  This  study  at  first  needs  no  book.  The 


80  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

teacher  should  be  thoroughly  versed  in  "  Colburn's 
Intellectual  Arithmetic,"  or  its  equivalent,  and  he  can 
find  enough  to  interest  the  child.  When  the  scholar  has 
learned  to  read,  and  has  attained  the  age  of  six  or  seven, 
he  may  be  allowed  a  book  in  preparing  his  lesson,  but 
never  during  the  recitation.  Those  who  have  not  tried 
this  kind  of  mental  discipline  will  be  astonished  at  the 
facility  which  the  child  acquires  for  performing  operations 
that  often  puzzle  the  adult.  Nor  is  it  an  unimportant 
acquisition.  None  can  tell  its  value  but  those  who  have 
experienced  the  advantage  it  gives  them,  in  future  school 
exercises  and  in  business,  over  those  who  have  never  had 
such  training. 

Geography  may  come  next  to  Mental  Arithmetic.  The 
child  should  have  an  idea  of  the  relations  of  size,  form 
and  space,  as  well  as  number,  before  commencing 
Geography.  These,  however,  he  acquires  naturally  at  an 
early  age ;  and  very  thoroughly,  if  the  teacher  has  taken 
a  little  pains  to  aid  him  on  these  points  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  his  progress.  A  map  is  a  picture,  and  hence  a 
child  welcomes  it.  If  it  can  be  a  map  of  some  familiar 
object,  as  of  his  school-room,  of  the  school  district,  of 
his  father's  orchard  or  farm,  it  becomes  an  object  of  great 
interest.  A  map  of  his  town  is  very  desirable,  also  of 
his  county  and  his  own  State.  Further  detail  will  be 
deferred  here,  as  it  is  only  intended  in  this  place  to  hint 
at  the  order  of  taking  up  the  subjects. 

History  should  go  hand  in  hand  with  Geography. 
Perhaps  no  greater  mistake  is  made  than  that  of  deferring 
History  till  one  of  the  last  things  in  the  child's  course. 

Writing  may  be  early  commenced  with  the  pencil  upon 
the  slate,  because  it  is  a  very  useful  exercise  to  the  child 
in  prosecuting  many  of  his  other  studies.  But  writing 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  21 

with  a  pen  may  well  be  deferred  till  the  child  is  ten  years 
of  age,  when  the  muscles  shall  have  acquired  sufficient 
strength  to  grasp  and  guide  it. 

Written  Arithmetic  may  succeed  the  mental ;  indeed,  it 
may  be  practiced  along  with  it. 

Composition — perhaps  by  another  name,  as  Description 
— should  be  early  commenced  and  very  frequently  prac- 
ticed. The  child  can  be  early  interested  in  this,  and  he 
probably  in  this  way  acquires  a  better  knowledge  of 
practical  grammar  than  in  any  other. 

Grammar,  in  my  opinion,  as  a  study,  should  be  one  of 
the  last  of  the  common-school  branches  to  be  taken  up. 
It  requires  more  maturity  of  mind  to  understand  its 
relations  and  dependencies  than  any  other ;  and  that 
which  is  taught  of  grammar  without  such  an  understand- 
ing is  a  mere  smattering  of  technical  terms,  by  which  the 
pupil  is  injured  rather  than  improved.  It  may  be  said 
that,  unless  scholars  commence  this  branch  early,  they 
never  will  have  the  opportunity  to  learn  it.  Then  let  it 
go  unlearned ;  for,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  the  world,  I  am 
satisfied  that  this  early  and  superficial  teaching  of  a 
difficult  subject  is  not  only  useless,  but  positively  injur- 
ious. How  many,  there  are  who  study  grammar  for 
years,  and  then  are  obliged  to  confess  in  after-life,  because 
"  their  speech  bewrayeth  "  them,  that  they  never  under- 
stood it !  How  many,  by  the  too  early  study  of  an 
intricate  branch,  make  themselves  think  they  understand 
it,  and  thus  prevent  the  hope  of  any  further  advancement 
at  the  proper  age  !  Grammar,  then,  should  not  be  studied 
too  early. 

Of  the  manner  of  teaching  all  these  branches,  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  in  due  time.  At  present  I  have  only 
noticed  the  order  in  which  they  should  be  taken  up. 


22  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

This  is  a  question  of  much  consequence  to  the  child,  and 
the  teacher  is  generally  responsible  for  it.  He  should 
therefore  carefully  consider  this  matter,  that  he  may  be 
able  to  decide  aright. 

2.  The  Manner  of  Study. — It  is  of  quite  as  much  im- 
portance Jioiv  we  study  as  zu/iat  we  study.  Indeed,  I 
have  thought  that  much  of  the  difference  among  men 
could  be  traced  to  their  different  habits  of  study,  formed 
in  youth.  A  large  portion  of  our  scholars  study  for  the 
sake  of  preparing  to  recite  the  lesson.  They  seem  to 
have  no  idea  of  any  object  beyond  recitation.  The  con- 
sequence is  they  study  mechanically.  They  endeavor  to 
remember  phraseology  rather  than  principles  ;  they  study 
the  book,  not  the  subject.  Let  any  one  enter  our  schools 
and  see  the  scholars  engaged  in  preparing  their  lessons. 
Scarcely  one  will  be  seen  who  is  not  repeating  over  and 
over  again  the  words  of  the  text,  as  if  there  was  a  saving 
charm  in  repetition.  Observe  the  same  scholars  at  recita- 
tion, and  it  is  a  struggle  of  the  memory  to  recall  the  forms 
of  words.  The  vacant  countenance  too  often  indicates  that 
they  are  words  without  meaning.  This  difficulty  is  very 
much  increased,  if  the  teacher  is  confined  to  the  text- 
book during  recitation ;  and  particularly,  if  he  relies 
mainly  upon  the  printed  questions  so  often  found  at  the 
bottom  of  the  page. 

The  scholar  should  be  encouraged  to  study  the  subject  ; 
and  his  book  should  be  held  merely  as  the  instrument. 
"  Books  are  but  helps,"  is  a  good  motto  for  every  student. 
The  teacher  should  often  tell  how  the  lesson  should  be 
learned.  His  precept  in  this  matter  will  often  be  of  use. 
Some  scholars  will  learn  a  lesson  in  one-tenth  of  the  time 
required  by  others.  Human  life  is  too  short  to  have  any 
of  it  employed  to  disadvantage.  The  teacher,  then, 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  23 

should  inculcate  such  habits  of  study  as  are  valuable; 
and  he  should  be  particularly  careful  to  break  up,  in  the 
recitations,  those  habits  which  are  so  grossly  mechanical. 
A  child  may  almost  be  said  to  be  educated,  who  has 
learned  to  study  aright ;  while  one  may  have  acquired  in 
the  mechanical  way  a  great  amount  of  knowledge,  and 
yet  have  no  profitable  mental  discipline. 

For  this  difference  in  children,  as  well  as  in  men,  the 
teacher  is  more  responsible  than  any  other  person.  Let 
him  carefully  consider  this  matter. 

3.  Collateral  Study. — Books,  to  be  sure,  are  to  be 
studied,  and  studied  chiefly,  in  most  of  our  schools.  But 
there  is  much  for  the  teacher  to  do  toward  the  growth  of 
the  mind,  which  is' not  to  be  found  in  the  school  books; 
and  it  is  the  practical  recognition  of  this  fact  which  con- 
stitutes the  great  difference  in  teachers.  Truth,  in  what- 
ever department,  is  open  to  the  faithful  teacher.  And 
there  is  such  a  thing,  even  in  the  present  generation,  as 
"  opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind,''  to  discover  things  new 
and  old,  in  nature,  in  the  arts,  in  history,  in  the  relation 
of  things.  Without  diminishing,  in  the  least,  the 
progress  of  the  young  in  study,  their  powers  of  observa- 
tion maybe  cultivated,  their  perceptions  quickened, their 
relish  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  indefinitely 
increased,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  teacher.  This 
must  of  course  be  done  adroitly.  There  is  such  a  thing 
as  excessively  cramming  the  mind  of  a  child,  till  he 
loathes  everything  in  the  way  of  acquisition.  There  is 
such  a  thing,  too,  as  exciting  an  all-pervading  interest  in 
a  group  of  children,  so  that  the  scholar  shall  welcome  the 
return  of  school  hours,  and,  by  his  cheerful  step  and  ani- 
mated eye,  as  he  seeks  the  schoolhouse,  disclaim,  as  false, 


24  THEORY  AM)  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

when   applied   to  him,  the  language  of  the  poet,   who 
described  the  schoolboy  of  his  darker  day, — 

' '  with  his  satchel, 

And  shining  morning  face,  creeping,  like  snail, 
Unwillingly  to  school." 

The  teacher  who  is  responsible  for  such  a  result 
should  take  care  to  store  his  own  mind  with  the  material, 
and  exercise  the  ingenuity,  to  do  that  which  is  of  so 
much  consequence  to  the  scholar. 

77/i?  teacher  is  in  a  degree  responsible  for  the  MORAL 
TRAINING  of  the  child. 

I  say  in  a  degree,  because  it  is  confessed  that  in  this 
matter  very  mu<  :h  likewise  depends  upon  parental  in- 
fluence. 

Moral  Training  Neglected. — This  education  of  the 
heart  is  confessedly  too  much  neglected  in  all  our  schools. 
It  has  often  been  remarked  that  "  knowledge  is  power," 
and  as  truly  that  "  knowledge  without  principle  to  regu- 
late it  may  make  a  man  a  powerful  villain."  It  is  all- 
important  that  our  youth  should  early  receive  such  moral 
training  as  shall  make  it  safe  to  give  them  knowledge. 
Very  much  of  this  work  must  devolve  upon  the  teacher; 
or  rather,  when  he  undertakes  to  teach,  he  assumes  the 
responsibility  of  doing  or  neglecting  this  work. 

Precept. — The  precept  of  the  teacher  may  do  much 
toward  teaching  a  child  his  duty  to  God,  to  himself,  and 
to  his  fellow-beings.  But  it  is  not  mainly  by  precept 
that  this  is  to  be  done.  Sermons  and  homilies  are  but 
little  heeded  in  the  school-room  ;  and  unless  the  teacher 
has  some  other  mode  of  reaching  the  feelings  and  the 
conscience,  he  may  despair  of  being  successful  in  moral 
training. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  25 

Example. — The  teacher  should  be  well  versed  in 
human  nature.  He  should  know  the  power  of  con- 
science and  the  means  of  reaching  it.  He  should  him- 
self have  deep  principle.  His  example  in  everything 
before  his  school  should  be  pure,  flowing  out  from  the 
purity  of  the  soul.  He  should  ever  manifest  the  tender- 
est  regard  to  the  law  of  right  and  of  love.  He  should 
never  violate  his  own  sense  of  justice,  nor  outrage  that 
of  his  pupils.  Such  a  man  teaches  by  his  example.  He 
is  a  "  living  epistle,  known  and  read  of  all.*'  He  teaches, 
as  he  goes  in  and  out  before  the  school,  as  words  can 
never  teach. 

How  Conscience  Can  be  Cultivated. — The  moral 
feelings  of  children  are  capable  of  systematic  and  suc- 
cessful cultivation.  Our  muscles  acquire  strength  by 
use ;  it  is  so  with  our  intellectual  and  moral  faculties. 
We  educate  the  power  of  calculation  by  continued  prac- 
tice, so  that  the  proficient  adds  the  long  column  of  figures 
almost  with  the  rapidity  of  sight,  and  with  infallible 
accuracy.  So  with  the  moral  feelings.  "  The  more  fre- 
quently we  use  our  conscience,"  says  Dr.  Wayland, 
"  in  judging  between  actions,  as  right  and  wrong,  the 
more  easily  shall  we  learn  to  judge  correctly  concerning 
them.  He  who,  before  every  action,  will  deliberately  ask 
himself,  '  Is  this  right  or  wrong  ? '  will  seldom  mistake 
what  is  his  duty.  And  children  may  do  this  as  well  as 
grown  persons."  Let  the  teacher  appeal  as  often  as  may 
be  to  the  pupil's  conscience.  In  a  thousand  ways  can 
this  be  done,  and  it  is  a  duty  the  faithful  teacher  owes  to 
his  scholars. 

By  such  methods  of  cultivating  the  conscience  as  the 
judicious  teacher  may  devise,  and  by  his  own  pure 
example,  what  may  he  not  accomplish?  If  he  loves  the 


26  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

truth,  and  ever  speaks  the  truth  ;  if  he  is  ever  frank  and 
sincere ;  if,  in  a  word,  he  shows  that  he  has  a  tender 
conscience  in  all  things,  and  that  he  always  refers  to  it 
for  its  approval  in  all  his  acts — what  an  influence  does  he 
exert  upon  the  impressible  minds  under  his  guidance  ! 
How  those  children  will  observe  his  consistent  course  ; 
and,  though  they  may  not  speak  of  it,  how  great  will  be 
its  silent  power  upon  the  formation  of  their  characters. 
And  in  future  years,  when  they  ripen  into  maturity,  how 
will  they  remember  and  bless  the  example  they  shall 
have  found  so  safe  and  salutary ! 

Consequences  of  Evil  Examples  to  be  Dreaded.— 
Responsibility  in  this  matter  cannot  be  avoided.  The 
teacher  by  his  example  does  teach,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
whether  he  will  or  not.  Indifference  will  not  excuse 
him  ;  for  when  most  indiffent  he  is  not  less  accountable. 
And  if  this  example  be  pernicious,  as  too  often  even  yet 
the  example  of  the  teacher  is;  if  he  indulges  in  outbreaks 
of  passion,  or  wanders  in  the  mazes  of  deceitfulness ;  if 
the  blasphemous  oath  pollutes  his  tongue,  or  the 
obscene  jest  poisons  his  breath  ;  if  he  trifles  with  the 
feelings  or  the  rights  of  others,  and  habitually  violates 
his  own  conscience, — what  a  blighting  influence  is  his  for 
all  coming  time ! 

The  School  is  No  Place  for  a  Man  Without  Princi- 
ple.— With  all  the  attachment  which  young  pupils  will 
cherish  even  toward  a  bad  teacher,  and  with  all  the 
confidence  they  will  repose  in  him,  who  can  describe  the 
mischief  which  he  can  accomplish  in  one  short  term  ? 
The  school  is  no  place  for  a  man  without  principle ;  I 
repeat,  THE  SCHOOL  IS  NO  PLACE  FOR  A  MAN  WITHOUT 

PRINCIPLE!  Let  such  a  man  seek  a  livelihood  any- 
where else ;  or,  failing  to  gain  it  by  other  means,  let 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  27 

starvation  seize  the  body,  and  send  the  soul  back  to  its 
Maker  as  it  is,  rather  than  he  should  incur  the  fearful 
guilt  of  poisoning  youthful  minds  and  dragging  them 
down  to  his  own  pitiable  level.  If  there  can  be  one  sin 
greater  than  another,  on  which  heaven  frowns  with  more 
awful  displeasure  it  is  that  of  leading  the  young  into 
principles  of  error  and  the  debasing  practices  of  vice. 

"Oh,  woe  to  those  who  trample  on  the  mind, 
That  deathless  thing  !     They  know  not  what  they  do, 
Nor  what  they  deal  with.     Man,  perchance,  may  bind 
The  flower  his  step  hath  bruised  ;   or  light  anew 
The  torch  he  quenches  ;   or  to  music  wind 
Again  the  lyre-string  from  his  touch  that  flew ; — 
But  for  the  soul,  oh,  tremble  and  beware 
To  lay  rude  hands  upon  God's  mysteries  there  ! " 

Let  then  the  teacher  study  well  his  motives  when  he 
enters  this  profession,  and  so  let  him  meet  his  responsi- 
bility in  this  matter  as  to  secure  the  approval  of  his  own 
conscience  and  his  God. 

Tfif  teacher  is  to  some  extent  responsible  for  the  RELI- 
GIOUS TRAINING  of  the  young. 

Religion  Our  Glory,  Our  Hope. — We  live  in  a  Chris- 
tian land.  It  is  our  glory,  if  not  our  boast,  that  we  have 
descended  from  an  ancestry  that  feared  God  and  rever- 
enced his  word.  Very  justly  we  attribute  our  superiority 
as  a  people  over  those  who  dwell  in  the  darker  portions 
of  the  world,  to  our  purer  faith  derived  from  that  preci- 
ous fountain  of  truth — the  Bible.  Very  justly,  too,  does 
the  true  patriot  and  philanthropist -rely  upon  our  faith 
and  practice  as  a  Christian  people  for  the  permanence  of 
our  free  institutions  and  our  unequalled  social  privileges. 

If  we  are  so  much  indebted,  then,  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion for  what  we  are,  and  so  much  dependent  upon  its 
life-giving  truths  for  what  we  may  hope  to  be,  how  im- 


28  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

portant  is  it  that  all  our  youth  should  be  nurtured  under 
its  influences  ! 

Avoid  Sectarianism. — When  I  say  religious  training, 
I  do  not  mean  sectarianism.  In  our  public  schools,  sup- 
ported, at  the  public  expense,  and  in  which  the  children 
of  all  denominations  meet  for  instruction,  I  do  not  think 
that  any  man  has  a  right  to  crowd  his  own  peculiar  no- 
tions of  theology  upon  all,  whether  they  are  acceptable 
or  not. 

Common  Ground. —  Yet  there  is  common  ground 
which  the  teacher  can  occupy,  and  to  which  no  reason- 
able man  can  object.  He  can  teach  a  reverence  for  the 
Supreme  Being,  a  reverence  for  His  Holy  Word,  for  the 
influences  of  His  Spirit,  for  the  character  and  teachings 
of  the  Saviour,  and  for  the  momentous  concerns  of  eter- 
nity. He  can  teach  the  evil  of  sin  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  the  awful  consequences  of  it  upon  the  individual. 
He  can  teach  the  duty  of  repentance,  and  the  privilege  of 
forgiveness.  He  can  teach  our  duty  to  worship  God,  to 
obey  His  laws,  to  seek  the  guidance  of  His  Spirit,  and 
the  salvation  by  His  Son.  He  can  illustrate  the  blessed- 
ness of  the  divine  life,  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  the 
joyful  hope  of  heaven  and  to  all  this  no  reasonable 
man  will  be  found  to  object,  so  long  as  it  is  done  in  a 
truly  Christian  spirit. 

If  not  in  express  words,  most  certainly  his  life  and  ex- 
ample should  teach  this.  Man  is  a  religious  being.  The 
religious  principle  should  be  early  cultivated.  It  should 
be  safely  and  carefully  cultivated  ;  and,  as  this  cultivation 
is  too  often  entirely  neglected  by  parents,  unless  it  is  at- 
tempted by  the  teacher,  in  many  cases  it  will  never  be 
effected  at  all, 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  29 

Of  course  all  those  points  which  separate  the  commu- 
nity into  sects  must  be  left  to  the  family,  the  sabbath- 
school,  and  the  pulpit.  The  teacher  is  responsible  for 
his  honesty  in  this  matter.  While  he  has  no  right  to 
lord  it  over  the  private  conscience  of  any  one,  he  is  in- 
excusable, if,  believing  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible,  he 
puts  them  away  as  if  they  concerned  him  not.  They 
should  command  his  faith,  and  govern  his  conduct;  and 
their  claims  upon  the  young  should  not  be  sowned. 

Danger  of  Skepticism. — At  any  rate,  the  teacher 
should  be  careful  that  his  teaching  and  his  example  do 
not  prejudice  the  youthful  mind  against  these  truths. 
It  is  a  hazardous  thing  for  a  man  to  be  skeptical  by  him- 
self, even  when  he  locks  his  opinions  up  in  the  secrecy  of 
his  own  bosom.  How  great,  then,  is  the  responsibility  of 
teaching  the  young  to  look  lightly  upon  the  only  Book 
that  holds  out  to  us  the  faith  of  immortality,  and  opens 
to  us  the  hope  of  heaven  !  Let  the  teacher  well  con- 
sider this  matter,  and  take  heed  that  his  teaching  shall 
never  lead  one  child  of  earth  away  from  his  heavenly 
Father,  or  from  the  rest  of  the  righteous  in  the  home  of 
the  blest. 

Inexcusable  Indifference. — In  view  of  what  has  been 
said,  the  young  candidate  for  the  teacher's  office,  almost 
in  despair  of  success,  may  exclaim,  "  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?"  "Who  can  meet  and  sustain  such 
responsibility?"  My  answer  is,  the  true  inquirer  after 
duty  will  not  go  astray.  He  is  insufficient  for  these 
things  who  is  self-confident,  who  has  not  yet  learned  his 
own  weakness,  who  has  never  found  out  his  own  faults, 
and  who  rushes  to  this  great  work,  as  the  unheeding 
"  horse  rushes  into  the  battle,"  not  knowing  whither  he 
goeth.  Alas !  how  many  there  are  who  enter  this  pro- 


30  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

fession  without  the  exercise  of  a  single  thought  of  the 
responsibleness  of  the  position,  or  of  any  of  the  great 
questions  which  must  in  their  schools  for  the  first  time 
be  presented  for  their  decision  !  How  many  there  are 
who  never  reflect  upon  the  influence  of  their  example 
before  the  young,  and  are  scarcely  conscious  that  their 
example  is  of  any  consequence !  Such,  in  the  highest 
sense,  will  fail  of  success.  How  can  they  be  expected  to 
go  right,  where  there  is  only  one  right  way,  but  a 
thousand  wrong  ?  Let  such  persons  pause  and  consider, 
before  they  assume  responsibilities  which  they  can 
neither  discharge  nor  evade.  Let  such  ask  with  deep 
solicitude,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  " 

The  Honest  Inquirer  May  Hope. — But  to  the  young 
person  really  desirous  of  i -improvement  ;  to  him  who  has 
taken  the  first  and  important  step  toward  knowledge,  by 
making  the  discovery  that  everything  is  not  already 
known  ;  to  him  who  sees  beforehand  that  there  are  real 
difficulties  in  this  profession,  and  who  is  not  too  proud 
or  self-conceited  to  feel  the  need  of  special  preparation 
to  meet  them  ;  to  him  who  has  some  idea  of  the  power 
of  example  in  the  educator,  and  who  desires  most  of  all 
things  that  his  character  shall  be  so  pure  as  to  render 
his  example  safe ;  to  him  who  has  discovered  that  there 
are  some  deep  mysteries  in  human  nature,  and  that  they 
are  only  to  be  fathomed  by  careful  study ;  to  him  who 
really  feels  that  a  great  thing  is  to  be  done,  and  who  has 
the  sincere  desire  to  prepare  himself  to  do  it  aright ;  to 
him,  in  short,  who  has  the  true  spirit  of  the  teacher, — I 
may  say,  there  is  nothing  to  fear.  An  honest  mind,  with 
the  requisite  industry,  is  sufficient  for  these  things. 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  81 

SECTION   III. — THE  AUBURN   STATE   PRISON. 

Visit  to  the  Prison. — During  my  visit  at  Auburn  in 
the  autumn  of  1845,  I  was  invited  by  a  friend  to  visit 
the  prison,  in  which  at  that  time  were  confined  between 
six  and  seven  hundred  convicts.  I  was  first  taken 
through  the  various  workshops,  where  the  utmost  neat- 
ness and  order  prevailed.  As  I  passed  along,  my  eye 
rested  upon  one  after  another  of  the  convicts,  I  confess, 
with  a  feeling  of  surprise.  There  were  many  good- 
looking  men.  If,  instead  of  their  parti-colored  dress, 
they  would  have  been  clothed  in  the  citizen's  garb,  I 
should  have  thought  them  as  good  in  appearance  as 
laboring  men  in  general.  And  when,  to  their  good 
appearance,  was  added  their  attention  to  their  work,  their 
ingenuity,  and  the  neatness  of  their  work-rooms,  my  own 
mind  began  to  press  the  inquiry,  Why  are  these  men  here? 

The  Library. — It  was  the  afternoon  of  Saturday. 
Many  of  them  had  completed  their  allotted  work  for  the 
week,  and  with  happy  faces  were  performing  the 
customary  ablutions  preparatory  to  the  Sabbath.  Pass- 
ing on,  we  came  to  the  library,  a  collection  of  suitable 
books  for  the  convicts,  which  are  given  out  as  a  reward 
for  diligence  to  those  who  have  seasonably  and  faithfully 
performed  their  labor.  Here  were  many  who  had  come 
to  take  their  books.  Their  faces  beamed  with  delight 
as  they  each  bore  away  the  desired  volume,  just  as  I  had 
seen  the  faces  of  the  happy  and  the  free  do  before. 
Why  are  these  men  here  ?  was  again  pressed  upon  me — 
why  are  these  men  here  ? 

Wyatt,  the  Murderer. — At  this  time  the  famous 
WYATT,  since  executed  upon  the  gallows  for  his  crime, 
was  in  solitary  confinement,  awaiting  his  trial  for  the 
murder  of  Gordon,  a  fellow-prisoner.  I  was  permitted  to 


32  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

enter  his  room.  Chained  to  the  floor,  he  was  reclining 
upon  his  mattress  in  the  middle  of  his  apartment.  As  I 
approached  him  his  large,  black  eye  met  mine.  He  was 
a  handsome  man.  His  head  was  well  developed,  his 
long,  black  hair  hung  upon  his  neck,  and  his  eye  was  one 
of  the  most  intelligent  I  ever  beheld.  Had  I  seen  him 
in  the  senate  among  great  men — had  I  seen  him  in  a 
school  of  philosophers,  or  a  brotherhood  of  poets,  I 
should  probably  have  selected  him  as  the  most  remark- 
able man  among  them  all,  without  suspecting  his  distinc- 
tion to  be  a  distinction  of  villainy.  Why  is  that  man 
here?  thought  I,  as  I  turned  away  to  leave  him  to  his 
dreadful  solitude. 

Sabbath  Morn. — The  morrow  was  the  Sabbath.  I 
could  not  repress  my  desire  to  see  the  convicts  brought 
together  for  worship.  At  the  hour  of  nine  I  entered 
their  chapel,  and  found  them  all  seated  in  silence.  I 
was  able  to  see  most  of  the  faces  of  this  interesting  con- 
gregation. It  was  by  no  means  the  worst  looking  congre- 
gation I  had  ever  seen.  There  were  evidently  bad  men 
there  ;  but  what  congregation  oifree  men  does  not  present 
some  such  ? 

Worship. — They  awaited  in  silence  the  commence- 
ment of  the  service.  When  the  morning  hymn  was  read, 
they  joined  in  the  song,  the  chorister  being  a  colored 
man  of  their  own  number.  They  sang  as  other  congre- 
gations sing,  and  my  voice  joined  with  theirs.  The 
Scripture  was  read.  They  gave  a  respectful  attention. 
The  prayer  was  begun.  Some  bowed  in  apparent  rever- 
ence at  the  commencement.  Others  sat  erect,  and  two 
or  three  of  these  appeared  to  be  the  hardened  sons  of 
crime.  The  chaplain's  voice  was  of  a  deep,  perhaps  I 
should  say,  a  fatherly  tone,  and  he  seemed  to  have  the 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  33 

father's  spirit.  He  prayed  for  these  "  wayward  ones," 
who  were  deprived  of  their  liberty  for  their  offences,  but 
whom  God  would  welcome  to  His  throne  of  mercy.  He 
prayed  for  their  homes,  and  for  their  friends,  who  this 
Jay  would  send  their  thoughts  hither  in  remembrance  of 
those  in  bonds.  He  alluded  to  the  scenes  of  their  child- 
hood, the  solicitude  of  their  early  friends,  and  the 
affection  of  their  parents.  When  the  words  home,  friend, 
childhood  were  heard,  several  of  those  sturdy  sons  of 
crime  and  wretchedness  instinctively  bowed  their  heads 
and  concealed  their  faces  in  their  hands ;  and  as  a 
father  s  blessing  and  a  mother's  love  were  alluded  to,  more 
than  one  of  these  outcasts  from  society  were  observed 
to  dash  the  scalding  tear  from  the  eye.  These  men 
feel  like  other  men — why  are  £hey  here  ?  was  again  the 
thought  which  forced  itself  upon  my  mind. 

The  Teachers  of  the  Convicts. — While  the  chaplin 
proceeded  to  his  sermon,  in  the  midst  of  the  silence 
that  pervaded  the  room,  my  mind  ran  back  to  their 
educators.  Once  these  men  were  children  like  others. 
They  had  feelings  like  other  children,  affection,  rever- 
ence, teachableness,  conscience — why  are  they  here? 
Some,  very  likely,  on  account  of  their  extraordinary 
perversity  ;  but  most  because  they  had  a  wrong  educa- 
tion. More  than  half,  undoubtedly,  have  violated  the 
laws  of  their  country  not  from  extraordinary  vicious- 
ness,  but  from  the  weakness  of  their  moral  principle. 
Tempted  just  like  other  and  better  men,  they  fell,  be- 
cause in  early  childhood  no  one  had  cultivated  and 
strengthened  the  conscience  God  had  given  them.  I 
am  not  disposed  to  excuse  the  vices  of  men,  nor  to 
screen  them  from  merited  punishment ;  neither  do  I 
worship  a  "  painted  morality,"  based  solely  upon  educa- 


34  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

tion,  thus  leaving  nothing  for  the  religion  of  the  Bible 
to  accomplish  by  purifying  the  heart,  that  fountain  of 
wickedness;  yet  how  many  of  these  men  might  have 
been  saved  to  society  ;  how  many  of  them  have  powers 
which,  under  different  training,  might  have  adorned  and 
blessed  their  race  ;  how  many  of  them  may  date  their 
fall  to  the  evil  influence  and  poisonous  example  of  some 
guide  of  their  childhood,  some  recreant  teacher  of  their 
early  days — God  only  knows !  But  what  a  responsi- 
bility still  rests  upon  the  head  of  any  such  teacher,  if 
he  did  not  know,  or  did  not  try  to  know,  the  avenue  to 
their  hearts  ;  if  he  did  not  feel  or  try  to  feel  the  worth 
of  moral  principle  to  these  very  fallen  ones  !  And  what 
would  be  his  feelings  if  he  could  look  back  through  the 
distant  days  of  the  past,  and  count  up  exactly  the 
measure  of  his  own  faithfulness  and  of  his  own  neglect  ? 
This  the  All-seeing  Eye  alone  can  do — this  He  who 
looketh  upon  the  heart  ever  does  ! 

View  to  the  Final  Judgment. —  Teachers,  go  forth, 
then,  conscious  of  your  responsibility  to  your  pupils, 
conscious  of  your  accountability  to  God, — go  forth,  and 
teach  this  people  ;  and  endeavor  so  to  teach,  that  when 
you  meet  your  pupils,  not  in  the  walks  of  life  merely, 
not  perhaps  in  the  Auburn  Prison,  not  indeed  upon  the 
shores  of  time,  but  at  the  final  Judgment,  where  you 
must  meet  them  all,  you  may  be  able  to  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  the  influence  which  you  have  exerted  over  mind. 
As  it  may  then  be  forever  too  late  to  correct  your  errors 
and  efface  any  injury  done,  study  now  to  act  the  part  of 
wisdom  and  the  part  of  love. 

Study  to  Know,  and  to  Do. — Study  the  human  heart 
by  studying  the  workings  of  your  own  ;  seek  carefully 
the  avenues  to  the  affections  ;  study  those  higher  mo- 


RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  TEACHER.  85 

tives  which  elevate  and  ennoble  the  soul ;  cultivate  that 
purity  which  shall  allure  the  wayward,  by  bright  example, 
from  the  paths  of  error,  imbue  your  own  souls  with  the 
love  of  teaching  and  the  greatness  of  your  work ;  rely 
not  alone  upon  yourselves,  as  if  by  your  own  wisdom 
and  might  you  could  do  this  great  thing ;  but  seek  that 
direction  which  our  heavenly  Father  never  withholds  from 
the  honest  inquirer  after  His  guidance — and  though  the 
teacher's  work  is,  and  ever  must  be,  attended  with  over- 
whelming responsibility,  YOU  WILL  BE  SUFFICIENT  FOR 
THESE  THINGS. 


86  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  III. 
PERSONAL  HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER. 

Importance  of  Good  Habits. — The  importance  of 
correct  habits  to  any  individual  cannot  be  overrated. 
The  influence  of  the  teacher  is  so  great  upon  the 
children  under  his  care,  either  for  good  or  evil,  that  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  them  as  well  as  to  him- 
self that  his  habits  should  be  unexceptionable.  It  is 
the  teacher's  sphere  to  improve  the  community  in 
which  he  moves,  not  only  in  learning,  but  in  morals 
and  manners ;  in  everything  that  is  "  lovely  and  of 
good  report."  This  he  may  do  partly  by  precept — but 
very  much  by  example.  He  teaches,  wherever  he  is. 
His  manners,  his  appearance,  his  character,  are  all  the 
subject  of  observation,  and  to  a  great  extent  of  imita- 
tion, by  the  young  in  his  district.  He  is  observed  not 
only  in  the  school,  but  in  the  family,  in  the  social 
gathering,  and  in  the  religious  meeting.  How  desira- 
ble, then,  that  he  should  be  a  modelin  all  things ! 

The  Teacher  a  Model. — Man  has  been  said  to  be  a 
"  bundle  of  habits  :"  and  it  has  been  as  pithily  remarked, 
"  Happy  is  the  man  whose  habits  are  his  friends."  It 
were  well  if  all  persons,  before  they  become  teachers, 
would  attend  carefully  to  the  formation  of  their  per- 
sonal habits.  This,  unhappily,  is  not  always  done — 
and,  therefore,  I  shall  make  no  apology  for  introducing 
in  this  place  some  very  plain  remarks  on  what  I  deem 
the  essentials  among  the  habits  of  the  teacher. 


PERSONAL  HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  37 

I.  Neatness. 

Cleanliness. — This  implies  cleanliness  of  the  person. 
If  some  who  assume  to  teach  were  not  proverbial  for 
their  slovenliness,  I  would  not  dwell  on  this  point.  On 
this  point,  however,  I  must  be  allowed  great  plainness  of 
speech,  even  at  the  expense  of  incurring  the  charge  of 
excessive  nicety ;  for  it  is  by  attending  to  a  few  little 
things  that  one  becomes  a  strictly  neat  person.  The 
morning  ablution,  then,  should  never  be  omitted,  and 
the  comb  for  the  hair,  and  brush  for  the  clothes  should 
always  be  called  into  requisition  before  the  teacher  pre. 
sents  himself  to  the  family,  or  to  his  school.  Every 
teacher  would  very  much  promote  his  own  health  by 
washing  the  whole  surface  of  the  body  every  morning  in 
cold  water.  This  is  now  done  by  very  many  of  the  most 
enlightened  teachers,  as  well  as  others.  When  physi- 
ology is  better  understood,  this  practice  will  be  far  more 
general.  To  no  class  of  persons  is  it  more  essential  than 
to  the  teacher;  for  on  account  of  his  confinement,  often 
in  an  unventilated  room,  with  half  a  hundred  children 
during  the  day,  very  much  more  is  demanded  of  the 
exhalents  in  him  than  in  others.  His  only  safety  is  in  a 
healthy  action  of  the  skin. 

Care  for  the  Teeth  and  Nails. — The  teeth  should  be 
attended  to.  A  brush  and  clean  water  have  saved  many 
a  set  of  teeth.  It  is  bad  enough  to  witness  the  deplor- 
able neglect  of  these  important  organs  so  prevalent  in 
the  community  ;  but  it  is  extremely  mortifying  to  see  a 
filthy  set  of  teeth  in  the  mouth  of  the  teacher  of  our 
youth.  The  nails,  too,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  are  often 
neglected  by  some  of  our  teachers,  till  their  ebony  tips 
are  anything  but  ornamental  f  This  matter  is  made 
worse,  when,  in  the  presence  of  the  family  or  of  the 


38  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

school,  the  penknife  is  brought  into  requisition  to  remove 
that  which  should  have  received  attention  at  the  time 
of  washing  in  the  morning.  The  teacher  should  remem- 
ber that  it  is  a  vulgar  habit  to  pare  or  clean  the  nails 
while  in  the  presence  of  others,  and  especially  during 
conversation  with  them. 

Neat  Dress. — The  teacher  should  be  neat  in  his  dress. 
I  do  not  urge  that  his  dress  should  be  expensive.  His 
income  ordinarily  will  not  admit  of  this.  He  may  wear 
a  very  plain  dress ;  nor  should  it  be  any  way  singular  in 
its  fashion.  All  I  ask  is,  that  his  clothing  should  be  in 
good  taste,  and  always  clean.  A  slovenly  dress,  covered 
with  dust,  or  spotted  with  grease,  is  never  so  much  out 
of  its  proper  place  as  when  it  clothes  the  teacher. 

Habit  of  Using  Tobacco. — While  upon  this  subject  I 
may  be  indulged  in  a  word  or  two  upon  the  use  of  tobacco 
by  the  teacher.  It  is  quite  a  puzzle  to  me  to  tell  why 
any  man  but  a  Turk,  who  may  lawfully  dream  away  half 
his  existence  over  the  fumes  of  this  filthy  narcotic,  should 
ever  use  it.  Even  if  there  were  nothing  wrong  in  the 
use  of  unnatural  stimulants  themselves,  the  filthiness  of 
tobacco  is  enough  to  condemn  it  among  teachers,  espec- 
ially in  the  form  of  chewing.  It  is  certainly  worth  while 
to  ask  whether  there  is  not  some  moral  delinquency  in 
teaching  this  practice  to  the  young,  while  it  is  admitted, 
by  nearly  all  who  have  fallen  into  the  habit,  to  be  an 
evil,  and  one  from  which  they  would  desire  to  be  de- 
livered. At  any  rate,  I  hope  the  time  is  coming  when 
the  good  taste  of  teachers,  and  a  regard  for  personal 
neatness  and  the  comfort  of  others,  shall  present  motives 
sufficiently  strong  to  induce  them  to  break  away  from  a 
practice  at  once  so  unreasonable  and  so  disgusting. 


PERSONAL  HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  39 

II.  Order. 

Order,  System.— In  this  place  I  refer  to  that  system 
and  regularity  so  desirable  in  every  teacher.  He  should 
practice  it  in  his  room  at  his  boarding-house.  Every- 
thing should  have  its  place.  His  books,  his  clothing, 
should  all  be  arranged  with  regard  to  this  principle.  The 
same  habit  should  go  with  him  to  the  school-room.  His 
desk  there  should  be  a  pattern  of  orderly  arrangement. 
Practicing  this  himself,  he  may  with  propriety  insist  upon 
it  in  his  pupils.  It  is  of  great  moment  to  the  teacher, 
that,  when  he  demands  order  and  arrangement  among 
his  pupils,  they  cannot  appeal  to  any  breach  of  it  in  his 
own  practice. 

III.    Courtesy. 

Courtesy  of  Language. — The  teacher  should  ever  be 
courteous,  both  in  his  language  and  in  his  manners. 
Courtesy  of  language  may  imply  a  freedom  from  all 
coarseness.  There  is  a  kind  of  communication,  used 
among  boatmen  and  hangers-on  at  bar-rooms,  which 
should  find  no  place  in  the  teacher's  vocabulary.  All 
vulgar  jesting,  all  double-entendres,  all  low  allusions, 
should  be  forever  excluded  from  his  mouth.  And  pro. 
fanity !  —  can  it  be  necessary  that  I  should  speak  of  this 
as  among  the  habits  of  the  teacher  ?  Yes,  it  is  even  so. 
Such  is  the  want  of  moral  cense  in  the  community,  that 
men  are  still  employed  in  some  districts  whose  ordinary 
conversation  is  poisoned  with  the  breath  of  blasphemy  ; 
ay,  and  even  the  walls  of  the  school-room  resound  to  un- 
disguised oaths !  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my 
astonishment  at  the  indifference  of  parents,  or  at  the 
recklessness  of  teachers,  wherever  I  know  such  cases  to 
exist. 


40  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Purity  and  Accuracy. — Speaking  of  the  language  of 
the  teacher,  I  might  urge  also  that  it  should  be  both/wr* 
and  accuratt.  Pure  as  distinguished  from  all  those  cant 
phrases  and  provincialisms  which  amuse  the  vulgar  in 
certain  localities ;  and  accurate  as  to  the  terms  used  to 
express  his  meaning.  As  the  teacher  teaches  in  this,  as  in 
everything,  by  example  as  well  as  by  precept,  he  should 
be  very  careful  to  acquire  an  unexceptionable  use  of  our 
language,  and  never  deviate  from  it  in  the  hearing  of  his 
pupils  or  elsewhere. 

Courtesy  of  Manner. — There  is  a  courtesy  of  manner 
also,  which  should  characterize  the  teacher.  This  is  not 
that  ridiculons  obsequiousness  which  some  persons 
assume,  when  they  would  gain  the  good  opinion  of 
others.  It  is  true  politeness.  By  politeness  I  do  not 
mean  any  particular  form  of  words,  nor  any  prescribed 
or  prescribable  mode  of  action.  It  does  not  consist  in 
bowing  according  to  any  approved  plan,  nor  in  a  com- 
pliance simply  with  the  formulas  of  etiquette  in  the 
fashionable  world.  True  politeness  is  founded  in  benev- 
olence. Its  law  is  embodied  in  the  golden  rule  of  the 
Saviour  :  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them."  It  is  the  exercise  of  real 
kindness.  It  entertains  a  just  regard  for  the  feelings  of 
others,  and  seeks  to  do  for  them  what  would  make  them 
really  happy. 

Politeness  in  the  Teacher. — The  teacher  should 
possess  this  quality.  Whenever  he  meets  a  child,  it 
should  be  with  the  looks  and  words  of  kindness.  When- 
ever he  receives  any  token  of  regard  from  a  pupil,  he 
should  acknowledge  it  in  the  true  spirit  of  politeness. 
Whenever  he  meets  a  pupil  in  the  street,  or  in  a  public 
place,  he  should  cordially  recognize  him.  In  this  way 


PERSONAL  HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  41 

and  a  thousand  others,  which,  if  he  have  the  right  spirit, 
will  cost  him  nothing,  he  will  cultivate  true  courtesy  in 
his  pupils.  He  can  do  it  in  this  way  more  effectually 
than  he  can  by  formally  lecturing  upon  the  subject. 

True  politeness  will  always  win  its  true  reciprocation. 
Two  teachers  were  once  walking  together  in  the  streets 
of  a  large  town  in  New  England.  Several  lads  whom 
they  met  on  the  sidewalk  raised  their  caps  as  they 
exchanged  the  common  salutations  with  one  of  the 
teachers.  "  What  boys  are  these  that  pay  you  such 
attention  as  they  pass  ?  n  inquired  the  other.  "  They  are 
my  scholars,"  answered  his  friend.  "  Your  scholars  ! 
Why,  how  do  you  teach  them  to  be  so  very  polite  ?  Mine 
are  pretty  sure  never  to  look  at  me,  and  generally  they 
take  care  to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  street."  "  I  am 
unable  to  tell,"  said  his  friend  ;  "  I  never  say  anything 
about  it.  I  usually  bow  to  them,  and  they  are  as  ready 
to  bow  to  me."  The  whole  secret  consisted  in  this 
teacher's  meeting  his  pupils  in  the  spirit  of  kindness. 

Manners  Neglected. — I  would  not,  however,  discour- 
age a  teacher  from  actually  inculcating  good  manners  by 
precept.  It  should  indeed  be  done.  The  manners  of 
pupils  are  too  much  neglected  in  most  of  our  schools, 
and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in  most  of  our  families.  Our 
youth  are  growing  up  with  all  the  independence  of  sturdy 
young  republicans ;  and,  in  their  pride  of  freedom  from 
governmental  restraint,  they  sometimes  show  a  want  of 
respect  for  their  seniors  and  superiors,  which  is  quite 
mortifying  to  all  lovers  of  propriety.  It  is  the  teacher's 
province  to  counteract  this;  and  in  order  to  do  it  well  he 
should  possess  the  virtue  of  true  courtesy,  both  in  theory 
and  practice. 


42  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

IV.  Punctuality. 

The  Teacher  Should  be  Punctual.— This,  as  a  habit, 
is  essential  to  the  teacher.  He  should  be  punctual  in 
everything.  He  should  always  be  present  at  or  before 
the  time  for  opening  the  school.  A  teacher  who  goes 
late  to  school  once  a  week,  or  even  once  a  month,  cannot 
very  well  enforce  the  punctual  attendance  of  his  pupils. 
I  once  knew  a  man  who  for  seven  long  years  was  never 
late  at  school  a  single  minute,  and  seldom  did  he  fail  to 
reach  his  place  more  than  five  minutes  before  the  time. 
I  never  knew  but  one  such.  I  have  known  scores  who 
were  frequently  tardy,  and  sometimes  by  the  space  of  a 
whole  hour! 

Dismiss  Punctually. — A  teacher  should  be  as  punctual 
in  dismissing  as  in  opening  his  school.  I  know  that  some 
make  a  virtue  of  keeping  their  schools  beyond  the 
regular  hours.  I  have  always  considered  this  a  very 
questionable  virtue.  If  a  teacher  wishes  to  stay  beyond 
his  time,  it  should  be  either  with  delinquents,  who  have 
some  lessons  to  make  up,  or  with  those  who  voluntarily 
remain.  But,  after  all,  if  he  has  been  strictly  punctual  to 
the  hours  assigned  for  his  various  duties  in  school,  there 
will  scarcely  be  the  necessity  for  him,  or  any  of  his  pupils 
to  remain  beyond  the  time  for  dismission ;  and  as  a 
general  rule,  a  regard  both  for  his  own  health  and  theirs 
should  forbid  this.  It  is  better  to  work  diligently,  while 
one  does  work,  and  not  to  protract  the  time  of  labor,  so 
as  to  destroy  one's  energy  for  to-morrow. 

This  habit  of  punctuality  should  run  through  every- 
thing. He  should  be  punctual  at  all  engagements  ;  he 
should  be  studiously  so  in  all  the  detail  of  school  exer- 
cises ;  he  should  be  so  at  his  meals,  at  his  private  studies, 
at  his  hour  of  retiring  at  night,  and  of  rising  in  the 


PERSONAL  HABITS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  43 

morning,  and  also  at  his  exercise  and  recreation.  This 
is  necessary  to  a  truly  exemplary  character,  and  it  is 
equally  as  necessary  to  good  health. 

V.  Habits  of  Study. 

Time  for  Regular  Study. — Unless  the  teacher  takes 
care  to  furnish  his  own  mind,  he  will  soon  find  his  present 
stock  of  knowledge,  however  liberal  that  may  be,  fading 
from  his  memory  and  becoming  unavailable.  To  prevent 
this,  and  to  keep  along  with  every  improvement,  he 
should  regularly  pursue  a  course  of  study.  I  say  regu- 
larly ;  for,  in  order  to  accomplish  anything  really  desira- 
ble, he  must  do  something  every  day.  By  strict  system 
in  all  his  arrangements,  he  may  find  time  to  do  it ;  and 
whenever  I  am  told  by  a  teacher  that  he  cannot  find  time 
to  study,  I  always  infer  that  there  is  a  want  of  order 
in  his  arrangements,  or  a  want  of  punctuality  in  the 
observance  of  that  order.  Human  life,  indeed,  is  short  ; 
but  most  men  still  further  abridge  the  period  allotted  to 
them  by  a  disregard  of  system. 


A  High  Standard. — What  has  now  been  said,  upon 
the  teacher  s  spirit,  the  teacher's  responsibility,  and  the 
teacher's  personal  habits,  will  embody  perhaps  my  views 
upon  the  character  of  the  individual,  who  may  be  encour- 
aged to  engage  in  the  work  of  teaching.  Nor  do  I  think 
the  requirements  in  this  department  have  been  overstated. 
I  know,  indeed,  that  too  many  exercise  the  teacher's 
functions  without  the  teacher's  spirit,  as  here  described, 
and  without  the  sense  of  responsibility  here  insisted  on, 
and  with  habits  entirely  inconsistent  with  those  here 
required.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  such  teachers 
have  chosen  the  right  calling,  or  that  the  children  under 


44  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

their  care  are  under  safe  and  proper  guidance.  It  proves 
rather  that  parents  and  school  officers  have  too  often 
neglected  to  be  vigilant,  or  that  suitable  teachers  could 
not  be  had. 

Excelsior ! — Let  none  think  of  lowering  the  standard 
to  what  has  been,  or  what  may  even  now  be,  that  of  a 
majority  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  this  profession. 
Every  young  teacher's  eye  should  be  directed  to  the  very 
best  model  in  this  work  ;  and  he  should  never  be  satisfied 
with  bare  mediocrity.  EXCELSIOR,  the  motto  of  the 
Empire  State,  may  well  be  the  motto  of  the  young 
teacher. 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.         45 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LITERARY    QUALIFICATIONS  OF   THE 
.  TEACHER. 

Profession  Advancing,  so  is  the  Pay. — I  am  now 
about  to  enter  an  extensive  field.  Since  the  teacher  is 
to  be  the  life  of  the  school,  it  is  of  great  consequence 
that  he  have  within  him  the  means  of  sustaining  life. 

As  the  statute  in  many  of  the  states  prescribe  the 
minimum  of  attainment  for  the  teacher,  I  might  per- 
haps spare  myself  the  labor  of  writing  on  this  point. 
Yet  in  a  thorough  work  on  the  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Teaching,  this  very  properly  comes  under  consideration. 

The  profession  of  teaching  is  advancing.  The  pres- 
ent standard  of  acquirement  demanded  of  the  teacher 
excludes  many  who  were  considered  quite  respectable  in 
their  vocation  ten  years  ago.  This  may  well  be  so  ;  for, 
within  that  time,  quite  an  advance  has  been  made  in 
the  compensation  offered  to  teachers.  It  is  but  reasona- 
ble that  acquirement  should  keep  pace  with  the  reward 
of  it.  Indeed  the  talent  and  attainment  brought  into 
the  field  must  always  be  in  advance  of  the  rate  of  com- 
pensation. The  people  must  be  first  convinced  that 
teachers  are  better  than  they  were  years  ago,  and  then 
they  will  be  ready  to  reward  them.  In  Massachusetts, 
according  to  statistics  in  the  possession  of  the  Hon. 
Horace  Mann,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the 
compensation  of  teachers  within  ten  years  has  advanced 
thirty-three  per  cent. ;  nor  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose 


46  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

that  this  advance  has  been  made,  fndependent  of  any 
improvement  among  the  teachers.  Their  system  of 
supervision  has  increased  in  strictness,  during  this  time, 
in  an  equal  ratio  ;  and  many  teachers,  who  were  entirely 
incompetent  for  their  places,  have  thus  been  driven  to 
other  employments.  The  cause  is  still  onward ;  and 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  people  will  demand 
still  more  thorough  teachers  for  the  common  schools, 
and  they  will  find  it  for  their  interest  to  pay  for  them. 

What  a  Teacher  Ought  to  Know.— Under  these 
circumstances  it  will  not  be  my  design  to  give  the  very 
lowest  qualifications  for  a  teacher  at  present.  I  shall  aim 
to  describe  those  which  a  teacher  ought  to  possess,  in  order 
to  command,  for  some  time  to  come,  the  respect  of  the 
enlightened  part  of  the  community.  I  will  not  say  that 
a  man,  with  less  attainment  than  I  shall  describe,  may 
not  keep  a  good  school ;  I  have  no  doubt  that  many  do. 
Yet  if  our  profession  is  to  be  really  respectable,  and 
truly  deserving  of  the  regard  of  an  enlightened  people, 
we  must  have  a  still  higher  standard  of  qualification  than 
I  shall  now  insist  on.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
studies  of  which  every  teacher  should  have  a  competent 
knowledge.  I  add,  also,  to  each,  such  word  of  comment 
as  appears  to  be  necessary  : 

I.  Orthography. — This  implies  something  more  than 
mere  spelling.  Spelling  is  certainly  indispensable.  No 
person  should  ever  think  of  teaching  who  is  not  an 
accurate  speller.  But  the  nature  and  powers  of  letters 
should  also  be  mastered.  We  have  in  our  language  about 
forty  elementary  sounds ;  yet  we  have  but  twenty-six 
characters  to  represent  them.  Our  alphabet  is  therefore 
imperfect.  This  imperfection  is  augmented  by  the  fact 
that  several  of  the  letters  are  employed  each  to  represent 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.        47 

several  different  sounds.  In  other  cases,  two  letters 
combined  represent  the  element.  There  are  also  letters, 
as  c,  q,  and  x,  which  have  no  sound  that  is  not  fully 
represented  by  other  letters.  Then  a  very  large  number 
of  our  letters  are  silent  in  certain  positions,  while  they 
are  fully  sounded  in  others.  It  were  much  to  be  desired 
that  we  might  have  a  per fee*  alphabet  ;  that  is,  as  many 
characters  as  we  have  elementary  sounds,  and  that  each 
letter  should  have  but  one^sound.  For  the  present  this 
cannot  be  ;  and  the  present  generation  of  teachers,  at 
least,  will  have  to  teach  our  present  orthography.  Those 
systems  of  orthography  are  much  to  be  preferred  which 
begin  with  the  elementary  sounds,  and  then  present  the 
letters  as  their  representatives,  together  with  the  practice 
of  analyzing  words  into  their  elements,  thus  showing  at 
once  the  silent  letters  and  the  equivalents.  These  systems 
may  be  taught  in  half  the  time  that  the  old  systems  can 
be,  and  when  acquired  they  are  of  much  greater  practical 
utility  to  the  learner. 

2.  Reading. — Every  teacher  should  be  a  good  reader. 
Not  more  than  one  in  every  hundred  among  teachers 
can  now  be  called  a  good  reader.  To  be  able  to  read 
well  implies  a  quick  perception  of  the  meaning  as  well 
as  a  proper  enunciation  of  the  words  It  is  a  branch  but 
poorly  taught  in  most  of  our  schools.  Many  of  the 
older  pupils  get  above  reading  before  they  have  learned 
to  read  well ;  and,  unfortunately,  many  of  our  teachers 
cannot  awaken  an  interest  in  the  subject,  because  very 
likely  they  cannot  read  any  better  than  their  scholars. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  how  large  a  pro- 
portion of  our  youth  leave  the  schools  without  acquiring 
the  power  readily  to  take  the  sense  of  any  common 
paragraph  which  they  may  attempt  to  read.  I  am 


48  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

inclined  to  think  the  number  is  not  small.1  In  this  way 
I  account  for  the  fact  that  so  many  cease  to  read  as  soon 
as  they  leave  school.  It  costs  them  so  much  effort  to 
decipher  the  meaning  of  a  book,  that  it  counteracts  the 
desire  for  the  gratification  and  improvement  it  might 
otherwise  afford.  It  should  not  be  so.  The  teacher 
should  be  a  model  of  good  reading :  he  should  be 
enthusiastic  in  this  branch,  and  never  rest  till  he  has 
excited  the  proper  interest  in  it  among  the  pupils,  from 
the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  in  the  school. 

It  would  be  well  if  our  teachers  could  be  somewhat 
acquainted  with  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  as  this 
would  afford  them  great  facilities  in  comprehending  and 
defining  many  of  our  own  words.  As  this  cannot  be  ex- 
pected for  the  present,  a  substitute  may  be  sought  in 
some  analysis  of  our  derivative  words.  Several  works 
have  somewhat  recently  been  prepared  to  supply,  as  far 
as  may  be  the  wants  of  those  who  have  not  studied  the 
classics.  I  should  advise  every  teacher,  for  his  own  bene- 
fit, to  master  some  one  of  these. 

i  Since  writing  the  above,  my  eye  nas  taflen  upon  the  following:,  from  the 
Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Educa- 
tion :  "I  have  devoted,"  says  Mr.  Mann,  "especial  pains  to  learn,  with  some 
degree  of  numerical  accuracy,  how  far  the  reading  in  our  schools  is  an  exercise 
of  the  mind  in  thinking  and  feeling,  and  how  far  it  is  a  barren  action  of  the 
organs  of  speech  upon  the  atmosphere.  My  information  is  derived  principally 
from  the  written  statements  of  the  school  committees  of  the  different  towns- 
gentlemen  who  are  certainly  exempt  from  all  temptation  to  disparage  the 
schools  they  superintend.  The  result  is  that  more  than  eleven-twelfths  of  all 
the  children  in  the  reading  classes  in  our  schools  do  not  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  they  read  ;  that  they  do  not  master  the  sense  of  their  reading 
lessons  ;  and  that  the  ideas  and  feelings  intended  by  the  author  to  be  conveyed 
to  and  excited  in  the  reader's  mind,  still  rest  in  the  author's  intention,  never 
having  yet  reached  the  place  of  their  destination.  It  would  hardly  seem  that 
the  combined  efforts  of  all  persons  engaged  could  have  accomplisned  more  in 
defeating  the  true  objects  of  reading.  How  the  cause  of  this  deficiency  is  to 
bo  apportioned  among  the  legal  supervisors  of  the  schools,  parents,  teachers, 
and  authors  of  text-books,  it  Is  impossible  to  say  but  surely  it  is  an  evil 
gratuitous,  widely  prevalent,  and  threatening  the  most  alarming  consequences." 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACIIKR.         49 

3.  Writing. — It   is  not  respectable  for  the  teacher  of 
the  young  to  be  a  bad  writer  ;  nor  can  it  ever  become  so 
even  should  the  majority  of  bad  writers  continue  to  in- 
crease.    The  teacher  should  take  great  pains  to  write  a 
plain,  legible  hand.     This  is  an  essential  qualification. 

4.  Geography. —  A  knowledge   of    the    principles  of 
Geography  is  essential.     This   implies   an  acquaintance 
with  the  use  of    globes,   and  the  art  of   map-drawing. 
The  teacher  should  be  so  well  versed  in  geography  that, 
with  an  outline  map  of  any  country  before  him,  he  could 
give   an   intelligent   account   of  its   surface,   people,   re- 
sources, history,  etc.;  and  if  the  outline  map  were  not  at 
hand,  he  ought  to  be  able  to  draw  one  from  memory — 
at  least,  of  each  of  the  grand  divisions  of  the  earth,  and 
of  the  United  States. 

5.  History. — The  teacher  should  be  acquainted  with 
history — at  least,  the  history  of  the  United  States.     He 
can  hardly  teach  geography  successfully  without  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  both  ancient  and  modern  history. 
It  should,  in  the  main,  be  taught  in  our  common  schools 
in  connection  with  geography. 

6.  Mental  Arithmetic.— Let   every  teacher  be   thor- 
oughly versed  in  some  good  work  on  this  subject.     Col- 
burn's  was  the  first,  and  it  is  probably  the  best,  that  has 
been  prepared.     That  little  book  has  done  more  than  any 
other  for  the  improvement  of  teaching  in  this  country.     It 
is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  is  able  in  some  way  to  ob- 
tain the  answers  to  the  questions  proposed.     He  should 
be  able  to  give,  in  a  clear  and  concise  manner,  the  reason 
for  every  step  in  the  process  he  takes  to  obtain  them.     It 
is  this  which  constitutes  the  value  of  this  branch  as  a 
discipline  for  the  mind. 


50  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

I  may  never  forget  my  first  introduction  to  this  work. 
On  entering  an  academy  as  a  student  in  1827,  after  I  had 
"  ciphered  through  "  some  four  or  five  arithmetics  on  the 
old  plan,  my  teacher  asked  me  if  I  had  ever  studied 
Mental  Arithmetic,  extending  to  me  the  little  book  above 
named.  "  No,  sir."  "  Perhaps  you  would  like  to  do 
so."  I  opened  to  the  first  page,  and  saw  this  question  : 
"  How  many  thumbs  have  you  on  your  right  hand  ?" 
This  was  enough ;  the  color  came  into  my  face,  and  I 
pettishly  replied :  "  I  think  I  can  find  out  the  number  of 
my  thumbs  without  studying  a  book  for  it."  "  But,"  said 
the  teacher,  "  many  of  our  young  men  have  studied  it, 
and  they  think  they  have  been  profited.  If  you  will 
take  it  and  turn  over  till  you  find  a  little  exercise  for  your 
mind,  I  think  you  will  like  it."  His  manner  was  open 
and  sincere,  and  I  took  the  little  book.  In  three  weeks 
I  had  mastered  it;  and  I  had  gained  in  that  time  more 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  arithmetic  than  I  had 
ever  acquired  in  all  my  life  before.  I  no  longer  "  saw 
through  a  glass  darkly." 

7.  Written  Arithmetic. — This  everybody  demands  of 
the  teacher;  and  he  is  scarcely  in  danger  of  being  with- 
out fair  pretensions  in  this  branch.  He  should,  however, 
know  it  by  its  principles,  rather  than  by  its  rules  and 
facts.  He  should  so  understand  it  that,  if  every  arith- 
metic in  the  world  should  be  burned,  he  could  still  make 
another,  constructing  its  rules  and  explaining  their  prin- 
ciples. He  should  understand  arithmetic  so  well  that  he 
could  teach  it  thoroughly  though  all  text-books  should 
be  excluded  from  his  schoolroom.  This  is  not  demand- 
ing too  much.  Arithmetic  is  a  certain  science,  and  used 
every  day  of  one's  life — the  teacher  should  be  an  e-ntire 
master  of  it. 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.      51 

8.  English  Grammar. — It   is  rare   that  a  teacher  is 
found  without  some   pretensions  to  English  Grammar ; 
yet  it  is  deplorable  to  observe  how  very  few  have  any 
liberal  or  philosophical  acquaintance  with  it.     In  many 
cases  it  is  little  else  than  a  system  of  barren  technicali- 
ties.    The  teacher  studies  one  book  and  too  often  takes 
that  as  his  creed.     In  no  science  is  it  more  necessary  to 
be   acquainted   with  several  authors.     The  person  who 
has  studied  but  one  text-book  on  grammar,  even  if  that 
be  the  best  one  extant,  is  but  poorly  qualified  to  teach 
this  branch.     There  is  a  philosophy  of  language  which 
the  teacher  should  carefully  study ;   and  if   within  his 
power,    he   should    have    some  acquaintance  with   the 
peculiar  structure  of  other  languages  besides  his1  own.    It 
can  hardly  be  expected  that  the  common  teacher  should 
acquire  an  accurate  knowledge   of  other  languages  by 
actually    studying    them.     In    this    science    the    mind 
naturally  runs  to  bigotry ;  and  there  is  no  science  where 
the  learner  is  apt  to  be  so  conceited  upon  small  acquire- 
ments as  in  grammar,     Let  the  teacher  spare  no  pains  to 
master  this  subject. 

9.  Algebra. — This,  branch  is  not  yet  required  to  be 
taught  in  all  our  schools  •  yet  the  teacher  should  have  a 
thorough   acquaintance  with   it.     Even   if  he   is  never 
called  upon  to  teach  it  (and  it  never  should  be  intro- 
duced into  our  common  schools  till  very  thorough  attain- 
ments are  more  common  in  other  branches),  still  it  so 
much  improves  the  mind  of  the  teacher  that  he  should 
not  be  without  a  knowledge  of  it.     He  will  teach  simple 
arithmetic  much  better  for  knowing  algebra.     I  consider 
an  acquaintance  with  it  indispensable  to  the  thorough 
teacher,  even  of  the  common  school 


52  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

10.  Geometry. — The  same  may  be  said  of  this  branch 
that  has  been  said  of  algebra.     Probably  nothing  disci- 
plines the   mind    more  effectually    than   the  study   of 
geometry.     The  teacher  should  pursue  it  for  this  reason. 
He  will  teach   other  things  the  better  for  having   had 
this  discipline,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advantage  which  a 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  geometry  will  give  him. 
in  understanding  and  explaining  the  branches  of  mathe- 
matics. 

11.  Plane  Trigonometry  and  Surveying. — In  many 
of  our  schools  these  branches  are  required  to  be  taught 
They  are  important  branches  in  themselves,  and   they 
also  afford  good  exercise  for  the  mind  in  their  acquisi- 
tion.   The  young  teacher,  especially  the  male  teacher^ 
should  make  the  acquirement. 

12.  Natural  Philosophy  — This  branch  is   not  taught 
in  most  of  our  district  schools.     The  teache^  however, 
should   understand   it  better   than   it    is    presented    in 
many    of   the  simple  text-books  on  this    subject.     He 
should  have  studied  the  philosophy  of  its  principles,  and 
be  fully  acquainted  with  their   demonstration.     If   pos- 
sible, he  should  have  had  an  opportunity  also  of  seeing 
the   principles  illustrated    by    experiment.      This   is   a 
great  field  ;  let  not  the  teacher  be   satisfied  with  crop- 
ping a  little  of  the  herbage  about  its  borders 

13.  Chemistry. — As    a    matter    of    intelligence,    the 
teacher  should  have  acquaintance  with  this  branch      It 
is  comparatively  a  new  science,  but  it  is  almost  a  science 
of  miracles.     It  is  beginning  to  be  taught  in  our  com- 
mon schools  ;  and  that  department  of  it  which  relates  to 
agriculture  is  destined  to  be  of  vast  importance  to  the 
agricultural  interests  of  our  country      "  Instead  of  con- 
jecture,  and  hazard,  and  doubt,  and  experiment,  as  here- 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.        58 

tofore,  a  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  soils,  the  food 
of  plants,  and  the  processes  of  nature  in  the  culture 
and  growth  of  crops  would  elevate  agriculture  to  a  con- 
spicuous rank  among  the  exact  sciences."  *  The  teacher 
should  not  be  behind  the  age  in  this  department. 

14.  Human  Physiology. — The  teacher  should  well 
understand  this  subject.  There  is  an  unpardonable 
ignorance  in  the  community  as  to  the  structure  of  the 
human  body,  and  the  laws  of  health,  the  observance  of 
which  is,  in  general,  a  condition  of  longevity,  not  to  say 
of  exemption  from  disease.  By  reference  to  statistics,  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  almost  a  fourth  part  of  all  the 
children  that  are  born  die  before  they  are  one  year  old. 
More  than  one-third  die  before  they  are  five  years  of  age  ; 
and,  before  the  age  of  eight,  more  than  one-half  "of  all  that 
are  born  return  again  to  the  earth !  Of  those  who 
survive,  how  many  suffer  the  miseries  of  lingering  disease, 
almost  sighing  for  death  to  deliver  them  from  the  pangs 
of  life !  There  is  something  deplorably  wrong  in  our 
philosophy  of  living,  else  the  condition  of  man  would 
not  so  commonly  appear  an  exception  to  the  truth  that 
God  does  all  things  well.*  Dr.  Woodward,  late  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  Lunatic  Hospital,  says  :  "  From  the 
cradle  to  the  grave,  we  suffer  punishment  for  the  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  health  and  life.  I  have  no  doubt  that 

i  Colonel  Young. 

a  "  It  is  the  vast  field  of  ignorance  pertaining  to  these  subjects  in  which 
Quackery  thrives  and  fattens.  No  one  who  knows  anything  of  the  organs  and 
functions  of  the  human  system,  and  of  the  properties  of  those  objects  in  nature 
to  which  that  system  is  related,  can  hear  a  quack  descant  upon  the  miraculous 
virtues  of  his  nostrums,  or  can  read  his  advertisements  in  the  newspapers, — 
wherein  fraudulently  towards  man  and  impiously  towards  God,  he  promises  to 
sell  an  '  Elixir  of  Life,'  or  '  The  Balm  of  Immortality,'  or  '  Resurrection  Pills,'— 
without  contempt  for  his  ignorance  or  detestation  of  his  guilt.  Could  the  quack 
administer  his  nostrums  to  the  great  enemy,  Daath,  then  indeed  we  might  expect 
to  live  forever  !"— HORACE  MANN. 


54  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

half  the  evils  of  life,  and  Jialf  the  deaths  that  occur 
among  mankind,  arise  from  ignorance  of  these  natural 
laws ;  and  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  them  would 
diminish  the  sufferings  incident  to  our  present  state  of 
being  in  very  nearly  the  same  proportion."  I  know  not 
how  an  acquaintance  with  these  laws  can  be  in  any  way 
so  readily  extended  as  through  the  agency  of  our  teachers 
of  the  young.  At  any  rate,  the  teacher  himself  should 
understand  them,  both  for  his  own  profit  and  the  means 
thus  afforded  him  of  being  directly  useful  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  to  others.  I.  have  already  shown  that  he  is 
responsible  to  a  great  extent  for  the  bodily  health  of  his 
pupils.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  physiology  will  enable 
him  to  meet  this  responsibility. 

15.  Intellectual  Philosophy. — This   is   necessary    for 
the  teacher.     His  business  is  with  the  mind.     He,  of  all 
men,  should  know  something  of  its  laws  and  its  nature. 
He  can   know  something,  indeed,   by  observation   and 
introspection  ;  but  he  should  also  learn  by  careful  study. 
His  own    improvement   demands   it,  and  his  usefulness 
depends  upon  it. 

16.  Moral  Philosophy.— A  knowledge  of  this  may  be 
insisted  on  for  the   same  reasons  which  apply  to  intel- 
lectual philosophy.     It  is  so  important  that  the  moral 
nature  of  the  child  be  rightly  dealt  with,  that  he  is  a  pre- 
sumptuous man   who   attempts  the   work  without   the 
most  careful  attention  to  this  subject. 

17.  Rhetoric  and  Logic. — These  are  of  great  service 
to  the  teacher  personally,  as  means  of  mental  discipline 
and  the  cultivation  of  his  own  taste.     Even  if  he  is  never 
to  teach  them,  they  will  afford  him  much  assistance  in 
other  departments  of  instruction.     He  certainly  should 
have  the  advantage  of  them. 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.         55 

1 8.  Book-keeping. — Every  teacher  should  know  some- 
thing of  book-keeping,  at  least  by  single  entry ;  and  also 
be  conversant  with  the  ordinary  forms  of  business.     The 
profound   ignorance    on    this    subject    among  teachers 
is  truly  astonishing.1     Book-keeping  should  be  a  com- 
mon school  study.     In  looking  over  the  able  report  of 
the  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  in  New  York,  I 
notice  in  fifty-three  counties,  during  the  winter  of  1845- 
46,  that  among  225,540  pupils  in  the  common  schools 
only  922  studied  book-keeping !     This  is  a  study  which 
in  practical  life  comes  home  to  the  interest  not  only  of 
every  merchant,  but  of  every  farmer,  every  mechanic, — 
in  short  every  business  man, — is    almost  entirely  neg- 
lected in  the  schools ;  while  it  is  yet  true  that  our  courts 
of  justice  display  evidences  of  the  most  deplorable  ig- 
norance  in   this  important  art.      Some  still  keep   their 
accounts  on  bits  of  paper;  others  use  books,  but  without 
any  system,  order,    or   intelligibility ;    and   others   still 
mark  their  scores  in  chalk,  or  charcoal,  upon  the  panel  of 
the  cellar  door ! 

The  teacher  should  qualify  himself  not  only  to  under- 
stand this  subject,  but  to  teach  it  in  such  a  way  that  it 
can  be  easily  comprehended  by  the  classes  in  our  com- 
mon schools. 

19,  Science  of  Government.— The  teacher  should  at 
least   be  well  acquainted  with   the   history  and   genius 
of  our  own  government,  the  constitution  of  the  United 

'  A  teacher,  who  had  kept  a  private  school,  was  met  in  a  country  store  one 
day  by  one  of  his  patrons,  who  paid  him  for  the  tuition  of  his  child,  asking  at 
the  same  time  for  a  receipt.  The  teacher  stared  vacantly  at  his  patron. 
"Just  give  me  a  bit  of  paper,1'  said  the  patron,  "to  show  you've  got  the 
money."  "Oh,  yes,  sir,"  said  the  teacher  ;  and,  taking  a  pen  and  paper,  wrot» 

the  following  : 

"fS^  I  have  got  the  money. 


56  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

States,  and  of  his  own  state.  In  a  republican  govern- 
ment it  is  of  great  importance  that  the  young,  who  are 
to  take  an  active  part  in  public  measures  as  soon  as  they 
arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  should  before  that  time 
be  made  acquainted  with  some  of  their  duties  and  rela- 
tions as  citizens.  This  subject  has  been  introduced  suc- 
cessfully into  many  of  our  common  schools ;  but  whether 
it  is  to  be  matter  of  formal  teaching  or  not,  it  is  a  dis- 
grace1 to  a  teacher  and  to  his  profession  to  be  ignorant 
of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  for  the  mode  of 
choosing  our  rulers. 

20.  Drawing. — The  good  teacher  should  understand 
the  principles  of  drawing.     He  should  also  be  able  to 
practice  this  art.     It  is  of  great  consequence  to  him. 
Without  neglect  of  other  things,  children  can  be  very 
profitably  taught  this  art  in  the  common  schools.     In 
the  absence  of  apparatus,  it  is  the  teacher's  only  way  of 
addressing  the  eye  of  his  pupils  in  illustrating  his  teach- 
ing.    Every  teacher  should  take  pains,  not  only  to  draw, 
but  to  draw  well. 

21.  Vocal  Music. — It  is  not  absolutely  essential,  though 
very  desirable,  to  the  good  teacher,  that  he  should  un- 
derstand music,  theoretically  and  practically.     Music  is 
becoming  an  exercise  in  our  best  schools,  and  wherever 
introduced  and   judiciously  conducted  it  has  been   at- 
tended with  pleasing  results.     It  promotes  good  reading 
and   speaking,   by   disciplining   the  ear    to    distinguish 
sounds;    and  it  also  facilitates   the   cultivation  of    the 


i  Not  long  since  a  teacher  of  a  public  school  afforded  lasting  amusement  for 
the  hangers-on  at  a  country  grocery.  He  was  jeered  for  belonging  to  the 
Whig  party,  by  which  Mr.  Tyler  was  brought  into  power.  "No,  no,"  said  he, 
"  I  voted  for  Gen.  Harrison,  but  /  never  voted  for  John  Tyler"  '•  How  did  you 
do  that  ?"  inquired  a  bystander.  "  Why,  I  cut  Tyler's  name  off  of  the  ticket,  to 
be  sure !" 


LITERARY  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  TEACHER.        57 

finer  feelings  of  our  nature.  It  aids  very  much  in  the 
government  of  the  school,  as  its  exercise  gives  vent  to 
that  restlessness  which  otherwise  would  find  an  escape- 
ment in  boisterous  noise  and  whispering — and  thus  it 
often  proves  a  safety-valve,  through  which  a  love  of  voci- 
feration and  activity  may  pass  off  in  a  more  harmless 
and  a  more  pleasing  way.  "  The  schoolmaster  that  can- 
not sing,'  says  Martin  Luther,  "  I  would  not  look  upon." 
Perhaps  this  language  is  too  strong;  but  it  is  usually 
more  pleasant  to  look  upon  a  school  where  the  school- 
master can  sing. 

'  General  Knowledge  Desirable. —  I  have  thus  gone 
through  with  a  list  of  studies  which,  it  seems  to  me, 
every  one  who  means  to  be  a  good  teacher,  even  of  a 
common  school,  should  make  himself  acquainted  with. 
I  would  not  condemn  a  teacher  who,  having  other  good 
qualities,  and  a  thorough  scholarship  as  far  as  he  has 
gone,  might  lack  several  of  the  branches  above  named. 
There  have  been  many  good  teachers  without  all  this 
attainment ;  but  how  much  better  they  might  have  been 
with  it ! 

I  have  made  this  course  of  study  as  limited  as  I  pos- 
sibly could,  taking  into  view  the  present  condition  and 
wants  of  our  schools.  No  doubt,  even  more  will  be  de- 
manded in  a  few  years.  I  would  have  the  present  race 
ot  teachers  so  good  that  they  shall  be  looked  upon  by 
those  who  succeed  them  as  their  "  worthy  and  efficient 
predecessors." 

Self-improvement. — I  ought,  in  this  place,  to  add 
that  the  teacher  increases  his  influence,  and  conse- 
quently his  usefulness,  in  proportion  as  he  makes  him- 
self conversant  with  general  knowledge.  This  is  too 
much  neglected.  The  teacher,  by  the  fatigue  of  his 


58  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

employment,  and  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  is 
strongly  tempted  to  content  himself  with  what  he  al- 
ready knows,  or  at  best  confine  himself  to  the  study 
of  those  branches  which  he  is  called  upon  to  teach.  He 
should  stoutly  resist  this  temptation.  He  should  always 
have  some  course  of  study  marked  out  which  he  will 
systematically  pursue.  He  should,  as  soon  as  possible, 
make  himself  acquainted  generally  with  the  subject  of 
astronomy,  the  principles  of  geology — in  short,  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  natural  history.  He  will  find  one  field 
after  another  open  before  him,  and  if  he  will  but  have 
the  perseverance  to  press  forward,  even  in  the  laborious 
occupation  of  teaching,  he  may  make  himself  a  well- 
informed  man. 

A  Suggestion. — I  will  venture  one  other  suggestion, 
I  have  found  it  a  most  profitable  thing  in  the  promotion 
of  my  own  improvement,  to  take  up  annually,  oroftener, 
some  particular  subject  to  be  pursued  with  reference  to 
writing  an  extended  lecture  upon  it.  This  gives  point 
to  the  course  of  reading,  and  keeps  the  interest  fixed 
When  the  thorough  investigation  has  been  made,  let 
the  lecture  be  written  from  memory,  embodying  all  the 
prominent  points,  and  presenting  them  in  the  most 
striking  and  systematic  manner.  It  should  be  done 
too,  with  reference  to  accuracy  and  even  elegance  of 
style,  so  that  the  composition  may  be  yearly  improved. 
In  this  way  certain  subjects  are  forever  fixed  in  the 
mind.  One  who  carefully  reads  for  a  definite  object 
and  afterwards  writes  the  results  from  memory,  never 
loses  his  hold  upon  the  facts  thus  appropriated. 


RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  59 


CHAPTER  V. 
RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  True  Ideal. — Every  teacher,  before  he  be- 
gins the  work  of  instruction,  should  have  some  defi- 
nite idea  of  what  constitutes  an  education  ;  otherwise 
he  may  work  to  very  little  purpose.  The  painter,  who 
would  execute  a  beautiful  picture,  must  have  beforehand 
a  true  and  clear  conception  of  beauty  in  his  own  mind. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  sculptor.  That  rude  block 
of  marble,  unsightly  to  the  eyes  of  other  men,  contains 
the  Godlike  form,  the  symmetrical  proportion,  the  life- 
like attitude  of  the  finished  and  polished  statue  ;  and 
the  whole  is  as  clear  to  his  mental  eye  before  the  chisel 
is  applied  as  it  is  to  his  bodily  vision  when  the  work  is 
completed.  With  this  perfect  ideal  in  the  mind  at  the 
outset,  every  stroke  of  the  chisel  has  its  object.  Not  a 
blow  is  struck,  but  it  is  guided  by  consummate  skill; 
not  a  chip  is  removed,  but  to  develop  the  ideal  of  the 
artist.  And  when  the  late  unsightly  marble,  as  if  by 
miraculous  power,  stands  out  before  the  astonished  spec- 
tator in  all  the  perfection  of  beauty — when  it  almost 
breathes  and  speaks — it  is  to  the  artist  but  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  own  conception. 

A  Spectator's  Efforts. — Now  let  the  same  astonished 
and  delighted  spectator,  with  the  same  instruments, 
attempt  to  produce  another  statue  from  a  similar  block. 
On  this  side  he  scores  too  deep  ;  on  the  other  he  leaves 
a  protuberance ;  here,  by  carelessness,  he  encroaches 
upon  the  rounded  limb  ;  there,  by  accident,  he  hews  a 


60  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

chip  from  off  the  nose ;  by  want  of  skill  one  eye  ill-mates 
the  other  ;  one  hand  is  distorted  as  if  racked  by  pangs 
of  the  gout ;  the  other  is  paralyzed  and  deathlike.  Such 
would  be  his  signal  failure.  Thus  he  might  fail  a  thous- 
and times.  Indeed,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  strange  .sur- 
prise if  in  a  thousand  efforts  he  should  once  succeed. 

The  Difference. — Now  the  difference  between  the 
artist  and  the  -  spectator  lies  chiefly  in  this — the  one 
knows  beforehand  what  he  means  to  do  ;  the  other 
works  without  any  plan.  The  one  has  studied  beauty 
till  he  can  see  it  in  the  rugged  block  ;  the  other  only 
knows  it  when  it  is  presented  to  him.  The  former,  hav 
ing  an  ideal,  produces  it  with  unerring  skill  ;  the  latter, 
having  no  conception  to  guide  him,  brings  out  deformity. 

"  What  sculpture  is  to  the  block  of  marble,"  says 
Addison,  "education  is  to  the  human  soul ;  "  and  may  I 
not  add,  that  the  sculptor  is  a  type  of  the  true  educator 
—while  the  spectator,  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking, 
may  aptly  represent  too  many  false  teachers  who,  with- 
out study  or  forethought,  enter  upon  the  delicate  busi- 
ness of  fashioning  the  human  soul,  blindly  experimenting 
amidst  the  wreck  of  their  heaven-descended  material, 
maiming  and  marring,  with  scarcely  the  possibility  of 
final  success, — almost  with  the  certainty  of  a  melancholy 
failure  ! 

Blindness  of  Employers. — In  other  things  besides 
education  men  are  wiser.  They  follow  more  the  teach- 
ings of  nature  and  of  common  sense.  But  in  education, 
where  a  child  has  but  one  opportunity  for  mental  train- 
ing, as  he  can  be  a  child  but  once — where  success,  un- 
erring success,  is  everything  to  him  for  time  and  eter- 
nity, and  where  a  mistake  may  be  most  ruinous  to  him 
—in  education,  men  often  forget  their  ordinary  wisdom 


RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  6i 

and  providence,  and  commit  the  most  important  con- 
cerns to  the  most  incompetent  hands.  "  The  prevailing 
opinions,"  says  Geo.  B.  Emerson,  "  in  regard  to  this  art 
are  such  as  the  common  sense  of  mankind  and  the 
experience  of  centuries  have  shown  to  be  absurd  as  to 
every  other  art  and  pursuit  of  civilized  life.  To  be 
qualified  to  discourse  upon  our  moral  and  religious 
duties,  a  man  must  be  educated  by  years  of  study  ;  to 
be  able  to  administer  to  the  body  in  disease,  he  must  be 
educated  by  a  careful  examination  of  the  body  in  health 
and  in  disease,  and  of  the  effects  produced  on  it  by 
external  agents  ;  to  be  able  to  make  out  a  conveyance 
of  property,  or  to  draw  a  writ,  he  must  be  educated  ;  to 
navigate  a  ship,  he  must  be  educated  by  years  of  service 
before  the  mast  or  on  the  quarter-deck ;  to  transfer  the 
products  of  the  earth  or  of  art  from  the  producer  to  the 
consumer,  he  must  be  educated  ;  to  make  a  hat  or  a 
coat,  he  must  be  educated  by  years  of  apprenticeship  ; 
to  make  a  plow  he  must  be  educated  ;  to  make  a  nail, 
or  a  shoe  for  a  horse  or  an  ox,  he  must  be  educated  ; 
but  to  prepare  a  man  to  do  all  these  things — to  train 
the  body  in  its  most  tender  years,  according  to  the  laws 
of  health,  so  that  it  should  be  strong  to  resist  disease  ; 
to  fill  the  mind  with  useful  knowledge,  to  educate  it  to 
comprehend  all  the  relations  of  society,  to  bring  out  all 
its  powers  intc  full  and  harmonious  action  ;  to  educate 
the  moral  nature,  in  which  the  very  sentiment  of  duty 
resides,  that  it  may  be  fitted  for  an  honorable  and 
worthy  fulfillment  of  the  public  and  private  offices  of 
life-  -to  do  all  this  is  supposed  to  require  no  study,  no 
apprenticeship,  no  preparation  !  " 

Defects  in  Teaching. — Many  teachers,  therefore,  en- 
couraged by  this  unaccountable  indifference  in  the  com- 


62  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

munity,  have  entered  the  teacher's  profession  without 
any  idea  of  the  responsibilities  assumed  or  of  the  end  to 
be  secured  by  their  labors,  aside  from  receiving,  at  the 
close  of  their  term,  the  compensation  for  their  service 
in  dollars  and  cents.  And  even  many  who  have  entered 
this  profession  with  good  intentions  have  made  the 
most  deplorable  mistakes  from  a  want  of  an  adequate 
idea  of  what  constitutes  an  education.  Too  often  has 
educating  a  child  been  considered  simply  the  act  of 
imparting  to  it  a  certain  amount  of  knowledge,  or 
of  "  carrying  it  through  "  a  certain  number  of  studies 
more  or  less.  Education  has  too  frequently  been  held 
to  be  a  cultivation  of  the  intellectual  to  the  neglect  of 
the  moral  powers ;  .and  the  poor  body,  too,  except  among 
savages,  has  had  but  little  share  in  its  privileges  or 
benefits.  In  a  very  large  number  of  our  schools,  the 
physical  and  moral  have  both  been  sacrificed  to  the 
intellectual.  Even  some  of  our  public  speakers  have 
dwelt  upon  the  necessity  of  intelligence  to  the  perpe- 
tuity of  our  free  institutions,  scarcely  seeming  to  be 
aware  that  intelligence,  without  moral  principle  to  di- 
rect and  regulate  it  might  become  the  very  engine 
through  which  evil  men  might  effect  our  overthrow. 
Who  has  not  seen  that  an  educated  man  without  virtue, 
is  but  the  more  capable  of  doing  evil  ?  Who  does  not 
know  that  knowledge  misdirected  becomes,  instead  of  a 
boon  to  be  desired,  a  bane  to  be  deprecated  ? 

A  Great  Question. — From  what  has  been  said,  I  place 
it  among  the  highest  qualifications  of  the  teacher  that 
he  should  have  just  views  of  education.  I  consider  it  all- 
important  that  he  should  have  a  well-defined  object  at 
which  to  aim,  whenever  he  meets  a  young  mind  in  the 
transition  state.  He  should  have  an  ideal  of  a  well-edu- 


RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  63 

cated  human  soul,  tenanting  a  healthy,  well-developed 
human  body;  an  ideal  which  he  at  once  and  system- 
atically labors  to  reach,  as  does  the  sculptor  when  he 
commences  his  work  upon  the  quarried  marble.  "  What 
is  it  to  educate  a  human  being  aright  ?"  should  be  one 
of  the  first  questions  the  candidate  for  the  teacher's 
office  should  ask  himself  with  the  deepest  seriousness. 
I  say  the  candidate ;  for  this  question  should  be  settled 
if  possible  before  he  begins  his  work.  It  is  a  great  ques- 
tion, and  he  may  not  be  able  to  answer  it  in  a  day.  Let 
him  consult  the  dictates  of  his  own  mind, — let  him  con- 
sult the  teachings  of  experience  and  wisdom,  as  they 
are  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Milton,  Locke,  Wyse, 
Cousin,  Brougham,  and  others  of  the  Eastern  Continent, 
and  of  Wayland,  Potter,  Mann,  G.  B.  Emerson,  Dwight, 
and  many  others  of  our  own  countrymen.  Let  him,  en- 
lightened by  all  this,  carefully  observe  human  nature 
around  him  ;  consider  its  tendencies,  its  wants,  and  its 
capabilities ;  and  after  a  patient  survey  of  all  the  truth 
he  can  discover  on  the  subject,  let  him  come  to  an  honest 
conclusion  as  to  what  is  a  correct  answer  to  the  query 
with  which  he  started — "  What  is  it  to  educate  a  human 
being  aright  ?" 

Results  of  Inquiry. — The  conclusions  of  the  honest 
and  intelligent  inquirer  after  the  truth  in  this  matter 
will  be  something  like  the  following .  That  education 
( from  e  and  duco,  to  lead  forth)  is  development ;  that  it 
is  not  instruction  merely  —  knowledge,  facts,  rules  — 
communicated  by  the  teacher,  but  it  is  discipline ;  it  is  a 
waking  up  of  the  mind,  a  growth  of  the  mind, — growth 
by  a  healthy  assimilation  of  wholesome  aliment.  It  is 
an  inspiring  of  the  mind  with  a  thirst  for  knowledge, 
growth,  enlargement,  and  then  a  disciplining  of  its  powers 


64  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

so  far  that  it  can  go  on  to  educate  itself.  It  is  the 
arousing  of  the  child's  mind  to  think,  without  thinking 
for  it ;  it  is  the  awakening  of  its  powers  to  observe,  to 
remember,  to  reflect,  to  combine.  It  is  not  a  cultivation 
of  the  memory  to  the  neglect  of  everything  else  ;  but  it 
is  a  calling  forth  of  all  the  faculties  into  harmonious  ac- 
tion. If  to  possess  facts  simply  is  education,  then  an 
encyclopaedia  is  better  educated  than  a  man. 

Knowledge  not  Undervalued. — It  should  be  remarked 
that  though  knowledge  is  not  education,  yet  there  will 
be  no  education  without  knowledge.  Knowledge  is  ever 
an  incident  of  true  education.  No  man  can  be  properly 
educated  without  the  acquisition  of  knowledge ;  the 
mistake  is  in  considering  knowledge  the  end  when  it  is 
either  the  incident  or  the  means  of  education.  The 
discipline  of  the  mind,  then,  is  the  great  thing  in  intel- 
lectual training ;  and  the  question  is  not,  how  much 
have  I  acquired  ?  —  but  how  have  my  powers  been 
strengthened  in  the  act  of  acquisition  ? 

The  Body,  the  Intellect,  the  Heart. — Nor  should  the 
intellectual  be  earlier  cultivated  than  the  moral  powers 
of  the  mind.  The  love  of  moral  truth  should  be  as 
early  addressed  as  the  love  of  knowledge.  The  con- 
science should  be  early  exercised  in  judging  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  pupils  own  acts,  and  every  opportunity 
afforded  to  strengthen  it  by  legitimate  use.  Nor  should 
the  powers  of  the  mind  be  earlier  cultivated  than  those  of 
the  body.  It  is  the  theory  of  some,  indeed,  that  the  body 
should  engross  most  of  the  attention  for  several  of  the 
first  years  of  childhood.  This,  I  think,  is  not  Nature's 
plan.  She  cultivates  all  the  powers  at  once — the  body, 
mind,  and  heart.  So  should  the  teacher  do.  "  Educa- 


RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  66 

tion,"  in  the  pertinent  language  of  Mr.  Fox,1  "  has  refer- 
ence to  the  whole  man — the  body,  the  mind,  and  the 
heart ;  its  object,  and,  when  rightly  conducted,  its  effect, 
is  to  make  him  a  complete  creature  after  his  kind.  To 
his  frame  it  will  give  vigor,  activity,  and  beauty ;  to  his 
senses,  correctness  and  acuteness  :  to  his  intellect,  power 
and  truthfulness ;  to  his  heart,  virtue.  The  educated 
man  is  not  the  gladiator,  nor  the  scholar,  nor  the  upright 
man,  alone  ;  but  a  just  and  well-balanced  combination  of 
all  three.  Just  as  the  educated  tree  is  neither  the  large 
root,  nor  the  giant  branches,  nor  the  rich  foliage,  but  all 
of  them  together.  If  you  would  mark  the  perfect  man, 
you  must  not  look  for  him  in  the  circus,  the  university, 
or  the  church,  exclusively ;  but  you  must  look  for  one 
who  has  'nuns  sana  in  corpore  sano — a  healthful  mind  in  a 
healthful  body.  The  being  in  whom  you  find  this  union 
is  the  only  one  worthy  to  be  called  educated.  To  make 
all  men  such  is  the  object  of  education. 

Egregious  Mistakes. — I  have  dwelt  thus  fully  on 
this  subject  because  it  is  so  obvious  that  egregious  mis- 
takes are  made  in  education.  How  many  there  are  who 
are  called  "good  scholars"  in  our  schools  of  whom  we 
hear  nothing  after  they  go  forth  into  the  world.  Their 
good  scholarship  consists  in  that  which  gives  them  no 
impulse  to  go  on  to  greater  attainments  by  themselves. 
Their  learning  is  either  that  of  reception — as  the  sponge 
takes  in  water — or  that  of  mere  memory.  Their  educa- 
tion is  not  discipline ;  it  kindles  none  of  those  desires 
which  nothing  but  further  progress  can  satisfy ;  it  im- 
parts none  of  that  self-reliance  which  nothing  but  im- 
possibilities can  ev,er  subdue.  While  these  are  pointed  out 
by  their  teachers  as  the  ornaments  of  their  schools,  there 

i  Lecture  before  the  Am.  Institute,  1835. 


66  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

are  others,  known  as  the  heavy,  dull,  "  poor  scholars," 
in  no  way  distinguished  but  by  their  stupidity,  —  of 
whom  no  hopes  are  entertained  because  of  them  nothing 
is  expected, — who  in  after-life  fairly  outstrip  their  fellows 
and  strangely  astonish  their  teachers.  Almost  every 
teacher  of  fifteen  years'  experience  has  noticed  this. 
Now,  why  is  it  so  ? 

Misjudgment  of  Character. — There  must  have  been 
somehow  in  such  cases  a  gross  misjudgment  of  character. 
Either  those  pupils  who  promised  so  much  by  their 
quickness,  were  educated  wrong,  and  perhaps  educated 
too  much,  while  their  teachers  unwittingly  and  uninten- 
tionally educated  their  less  distinguished  companions  far 
more  judiciously;  or  else  nature  in  such  cases  must  be 
said  to  have  been  playing  such  odd  pranks  that  legit- 
imate causes  could  not  produce  their  legitimate  effects. 
We  must  charge  Nature  as  being  extremely  capricious,  or 
we  must  allege  that  the  teachers  entirely  misunderstood 
their  work,  failing  where  they  expected  most,  and  suc- 
ceeding, as  if  by  chance — almost  against  their  will, 
where  they  expected  least.  I  incline  to  the  latter  alter- 
native ;  and  hence  I  infer  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
teaching  a  mind  naturally  active,  too  much, — exciting  it 
too  much, — so  that  it  will  prematurely  exhaust  its  ener- 
gies and  gladly  settle  back  into  almost  imbecility ;  and 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  leaving  the  mind  so  much 
to  its  own  resources  that,  without  dazzling  the  beholder 
like  the  flash  of  the  meteor  when  it  glares  upon  the 
\startled  vision,  it  may  be  silently  gathering  materials  to 
support  the  more  enduring  light  of  the  morning-star 
which  anon  will  arise  in  majesty  and  glory 

Certain  Results. — It  will  be  well  for  our  youth  when 
our  teachers  shall  so  understand  human  nature,  and  so 


RIGHT  VIEWS  OF  EDUCATION.  67 

comprehend  the  science  and  the  art  of  education,  that 
these  mistakes  shall  seldom  occur ;  and  when  he  who 
tills  the  nobler  soil  of  the  mind  shall,  with  as  much 
faith  and  as  much  certainty  as  he  who  tills  the  literal 
field,  rely  upon  the  fulfilment  of  Heaven's  unchangeable 
law :  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also 
reap." 


68  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING. 

Aptness  to  Teach. — From  what  has  been  said  of 
Education,  it  is  very  obvious  that  it  is  no  small  thing  to 
be  a  successful  teacher.  It  is  admitted  by  all  that  the 
teacher  should  be  APT  TO  TEACH.  He  cannot  be  useful 
without  this.  He  may  have  an  unimpeachable  char 
acter ;  he  may  have  the  most  liberal  and  thorough 
literary  requirements  ;  he  may  deeply  feel  his  responsi 
bility,  and  yet  after  all  he  may  fail  to  teach  success- 
fully. 

Aptness  Not  an  Instinct.  Can  be  Acquired  — Apt- 
ness to  teach  has  been  said  to  be  a  native  endowment,  a 
sort  of  instinct,  and  therefore  incapable  of  being  im- 
proved by  experience  or  instruction — an  instinct  such  as 
that  which  guides  the  robin,  though  hatched  in  an  oven, 
to  build  a  perfect  nest  like  that  of  its  parent,  without 
ever  having  seen  one.  I  am  of  opinion  that  such  in- 
stincts in  men  are  rare ;  but  that  aptness  to  teach,  like 
aptness  to  do  any  thing  else,  is  usually  an  acquired 
power,  based  upon  a  correct  knowledge  of  what  is  to  be 
done,  and  some  accurate  estimate  of  the  fitness  of  the 
means  used  for  the  end.  If  there  are  exceptions  to  this 
they  are  very  uncommon  ;  and  the  safer  way,  therefore, 
for  the  majority  of  teachers  is  to  study  carefully  the 
rationale  of  their  processes,  and  to  rely  rather  upon  sound 
and  philosophical  principles  in  their  teaching  than  upon 
a  very  doubtful  intuition. 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  69 

The  Way  Literary  Nurselings  Are  Made. — One  of 
the  most  common  errors  into  which  young  teachers  fall 
(and  some  old  ones,  too)  is  that  of  misjudging  of  the 
degree  of  assistance  which  the  young  scholar  needs  in 
the  pursuit  of  learning.  There  are  a  few  who  forget 
the  difficulties  which  impeded  their  own  preception  of 
new  truths  when  learners,  and,  therefore,  have  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  perplexities  which  surround  the  children 
under  their  charge  when  they  encounter  like  difficulties. 
They  refuse  to  lend  a  helping  hand,  even  when  it  is 
needed,  and  by  making  light  of  the  child's  doubts,  per- 
haps sneering  at  his  unsuccessful  struggles,  they  dis- 
hearten him  so  far  that  imaginary  obstacles  become  in- 
surmountable, and  he  gives  up  in  despair.  But  a  far 
more  numerous  class  tend  toward  the  other  extreme. 
From  a  mistaken  kindness,  or  a  mistaken  estimate  of 
the  child's  ability,  or  both,  they  are  disposed  to  do  quite 
too  much  for  him,  and  thus  they  diminish  his  power  to 
help  himself.  The  child  that  is  constantly  dandled 
upon  the  lap  of  its  nurse,  and  borne  in  her  arms  to 
whatever  point  it  may  desire  to  go,  does  not  soon  learn 
to  walk ;  and  when  it  at  length  makes  the  attempt,  it 
moves  not  with  the  firm  tread  of  him  who  was  early 
taught  to  use  his  own  limbs.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
literary  dandling  practiced  in  our  schools  ;  and  as  a 
consequence,  a  great  many  of  our  children  are  mere 
sickly  nurselings,  relying  upon  leading-strings  while  in 
the  school,  and  falling,  for  very  weakness,  just  as  soon 
as  the  supporting  hand  is  withdrawn.  This  evil  is  so 
common,  and  in  some  instances  so  monstrous,1  that  1 
shall  be  pardoned  if  I  dwell  upon  it  a  little  more  fully. ' 

i  Not  long  sine*  I  visited  a  school,  where  the  teacher,  with  much  self-com- 
placency, requested  me  to  examine  the  writing  of  the  children.  It  was  indeed 


70  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

In  illustrating  this  subject,  I  must  mention  two  pro- 
cesses of  teaching — not,  indeed,  exactly  opposite  to  each 
other,  though  widely  different — into  one  or  both  of 
which  many  of  our  teachers  are  very  liable  to  fall.  I  shall, 
for  the  sake  of  a  name,  designate  the  former  as  the 
SECTION  I.  POU RING-IN  PROCESS. 

Pouring  In. — This  consists  in  lecturing  to  a  class  of 
children  upon  every  subject  which  occurs  to  the  teacher, 
it  being  his  chief  aim  to  bring  before  them  as  many  facts 
in  a  limited  time  as  possible.  It  is  as  if  he  should 
provide  himself  with  a  basket  of  sweetmeats,  and  every 
time  he  should  come  within  reach  of  a  child,  should 
seize  him  and  compel  him  to  swallow — regardless  of  the 
condition  of  his  stomach — whatever  trash  he  should 
happen  first  to  force  into  his  mouth.  Children  are 
indeed  fond  of  sweetmeats,  but  they  do  not  like  to  have 
them  administered ;  and  every  physiologist  knows  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  eating  enough  even  of  an  agreeable 
thing  to  make  one  sick,  and  thus  produce  loathing 
forever  after. 

Victims  of  Kindness.— Now  many  teachers  are  just 
such  misguided  caterers  for  the  mind.  They  are  ready 
to  seize  upon  the  victims  of  their  kindness,  force  open 
their  mental  gullets,  and  pour  in,  without  mercy  and 
without  discretion,  whatever  sweet  thing  they  may  have 
at  hand,  even  though  they  surfeit  and  nauseate  the  poor 
sufferer.  The  mind,  by  this  process,  becomes  a  mere 
passive  recipient,  taking  in  without  much  resistance 
whatever  is  presented  till  it  is  full. 

very  fair.  But  when  I  drew  from  him  the  fact  that  h*  first  wrote  each  page 
himself  with  a  lead  pencil,  and  only  required  his  scholars  to  black  his  marks 
over  with  ink  .-  and  that  with  unremitting  labor  he  did  this  week  after  week  for 
all  the  writers  in  his  school,  I  knew  not  which  most  to  wonder  at,  the  docility 
of  the  children  or  the  weakness  of  the  teacher.  The  writing  ceased  to  be  won- 
d»rful. 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  71 

Passive  Recipient. — "  A  passive  recipient !  "  said  one 
to  his  friend ;  "  what  is  a  passive  recipient  ?  "  "  A  pas- 
sive recipient,"  replied  his  friend,  "  is  a  two-gallon  jug. 
It  holds  just  two  gallons,  and,  as  it  is  made  of  potters' 
ware,  it  can  never  hold  but  just  two  gallons."  This  is 
not  an  unfit  illustration  of  what  I  mean  by  making  the 
mind  a  passive  recipient.  Whenever  the  teacher  does 
not  first  excite  inquiry,  first  prepare  the  mind  by  wak- 
ing it  up  to  a  desire  to  know,  and  if  possible  to  find  out 
by  itself,  but  proceeds  to  think  for  the  child,  and  to 
give  him  the  results,  before  they  are  desired,  or  before 
they  have  been  sought  for — he  makes  the  mind  of  the 
child  a  two-gallon  jug>  into  which  he  may  pour  just  two 
gallons,  but  no  more.  And  if  day  after  day  he  should 
continue  to  pour  in,  day  after  day  he  may  expect  that 
what  he  pours  in  will  all  run  over.  The  mind  so  far  as 
retention  is  concerned,  will  act  like  a  jug;  that  is  a 
par^  of  what  is  poured  in  to-day  will  be  diluted  by  a 
part  of  that  which  is  forced  in  to-morrow,  and  that 
again  will  be  partially  displaced  and  partially  mingled 
with  the  next  day's  pouring,  till  at  length  there  will  be 
nothing  characteristic  left.  But  aside  from  retention, 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  the  jug  and  the  mind. 
The  former  is  inert  material,  and  may  be  as  good  a  jug 
after  such  use  as  before.  But  the  mind  suffers  by  every 
unsuccessful  effort  to  retain. 

Mind  Weakened. — This  process  of  lecturing  children 
into  imbecility  is  altogether  too  frequently  practiced  ; 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  intelligent  teachers  will  pause 
and  inquire  before  they  pursue  it  further. 

Drawing  Out. — The  other  process  to  which  I  wish  to 
call  attention  is  that  which,  for  the  sake  of  distinguish- 
ing it  from  the  first,  I  shall  denominate  the 


72  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

SECTION    II.    DRAWING-OUT   PROCESS. 

"Leading  Questions." — This  consists  in  asking  what 
the  lawyers  call  leading  questions.  It  is  practiced, 
usually,  whenever  the  teacher  desires  to  help  along  the 
pupil.  "  John,"  says  the  teacher  when  conducting  a 
recitation  in  Long  Division,  "  John,  what  is  the  number 
to  be  divided  called  ?"  John  hesitates.  "  Is  it  the 
dividend  ?''  says  the  teacher.  "  Yes,  sir — the  dividend." 
"  Well,  JoTin,  what  is  that  which  is  left  after  dividing 
called  ? — the  remainder — is  it  ?"  "  Yes,  sir."  A  vis- 
itor now  enters  the  room,  and  the  teacher  desires  to 
show  off  John's  talents.  "  Well,  John,  of  what  denomi- 
nation is  the  remainder?" 

John  looks  upon  the  floor. 

"  Isn't  it  always  the  same  as  the  dividend,  John  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Very  well,  John,"  says  the  teacher,  soothingly, 
"  what  denomination  is  this  dividend?"  pointing  to  the 
work  upon  the  board.  "  Dollars,  is  it  not  ?" 

"Yes  sir;  dollars." 

"  Very  well ;  now  what  is  this  remainder  ?" 

John  hesitates. 

"  Why,  dollars  too,  isn't  it  ?"  says  the  teacher. 

"Oh  yes,  sir — dollars /"  says  John,  energetically,  while 
the  teacher  complacently  looks  at  the  visitor  to  see  if  he 
has  noticed  how  correctly  John  has  answered. 

An  Example — "  Teaching  History  !" — A  class  is 
called  to  be  examined  in  History.  They  have  committed 
the  text-book  to  memory ;  that  is,  they  have  learned  the 
words.  They  go  on  finely  for  a  time.  At  length  one 
hesitates.  The  teacher  adroitly  asks  a  question  in  the 
language  of  the  text.  Thus  :  "  Early  in  the  morning,  on 
the  \\th  of  September,  what  did  the  whole  British  army 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  73 

do?"  The  pupil,  thus  timely  reassured,  proceeds: 
"Early  in  the  morning,  on  the  nth  of  September,  the 
whole  British  army,  drawn  up  in  two  divisions  com- 
menced the  expected  assault."  Here  again  she  pauses. 
The  teacher  proceeds  to  inquire  :  "  Well, — '  Agreeably 
to  the  plan  of  Howe,  the  right  wing  '  did  what?" 

Pupil.  "Agreeably  to  the  plan  of  Howe,  the  right 
wing — " 

Teacher.     "  The  right  wing,  commanded  by  whom  ?'* 

Pupil,  "  Oh  !  '  Agreeably  to  the  plan  of  Howe,  the  right 
wing,  commanded  by  Knyphausen,  made  a  feint  of  crossing 
the  Brandywine  at  Chad's  Ford,'  "  etc. 

Spectators  Astonished. — This  is  a  very  common  way 
of  helping  a  dull  pupil  out  of  a  difficulty  ;  and  I  have 
seen  it  done  so  adroitly  that  a  company  of  visitors  would 
agree  that  it  was  wonderful  to  see  how  thoroughly  the 
children  had  been  instructed. 

"  Yes,  Sir." — I  may  further  illustrate  the  drawing-out 
process  by  describing  an  occurrence  which,  in  company 
with  a  friend  and  fellow-laborer,  I  once  witnessed.  A 
teacher  whose  school  we  visited  called  upon  the  class  in 
Colburn's  First  Lessons.  They  rose,  and  in  single  file 
marched  to  the  usual  place,  with  their  books  in  hand,  and 
stood  erect.  It  was  a  very  good-looking  class. 

"  Where  do  you  begin  ?"  said  the  teacher,  taking  the 
book. 

Pupils.     On  the  8oth  page,  3d  question. 

Teacher.     Read  it,  Charles. 

Charles.  (Reads.}  "  A  man  being  asked  how  many 
sheep  he  had,  said,  that  he  had  them  in  two  pastures ;  in 
one  pasture  he  had  eight ;  that  three-fourths  of  these 
were  just  one-third  of  what  he  had  in  the  other.  How 
many  were  there  in  the  other  ?" 


74  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

TeacJier.  Well,  Charles,  you  must  first  get  one-fourth 
of  eight,  must  you  not. 

Charles.    Yes,  sir. 

Teacher.     Well,  one-fourth  of  eight  is  two,  isn't  it  ? 

Charles.    Yes,  sir  ;  one-fourth  of  eight  is  two. 

Teacher.  Well,  then,  three- fourths  will  be  three  times 
two,  won't  it? 

Charles     Yes,  sir. 

Teacher,     Well,  three  times  two  are  six,  eh  ? 

Charles.     Yes,  Sir. 

Teacher.  Very  well.  (A  pause  )  Now  the  book  says 
that  this  six  is  just  one-third  of  what  he  had  in  the  other 
pasture,  don't  it. 

Charles.    Yes,  sir. 

Teacher.  Then  if  six  is  one  third,  three-thirds  will 
be — three  times  six,  won't  it  ? 

Charles.     Yes,  sir. 

Teacher.     And  three  times  six  are  eighteen — ain't  it  ? 

Charles.     Yes,  sir. 

Teacher.  Then  he  had  eighteen  sheep  in  the  other 
pasture,  had  he? 

Charles.    Yes,  sir. 

Teacher.     Next,  take  the  next  one. 

At  this  point  I  interposed,  and  asked  the  teacher  if  he 
would  request  Charles  to  go  through  it  alone.  "  Oh, 
yes,"  said  the  teacher,  "Charles,  you  may  do  it  again." 
Charles  again  read  the  question,  and — looked  up. 
"  Well,"  said  the  teacher,  "  you  must  first  get  one-fourth 
of  eight,  mustn't  you?  "  "  Yes,  sir.'"  "  And  one-fourth 
of  eight  is  two,  isn't  it  ?  ''  "  Yes,  sir."  And  so  the  pro- 
cess went  on  as  before  till  the  final  eighteen  sheep  were 
drawn  out  as  before.  The  teacher  now  looked  round  with 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  75 

an  air  which  seemed  to  say,  "  Now  I   suppose  you   are 
satisfied  ?" 

"  Shall  /  ask  Charles  to  do  it  again?"  said  I.  The 
teacher  assented.  Charles  again  read  the  question,  and 
again  looked  up.  I  waited,  and  he  waited ; — but 
the  teacher  could  not  wait.  ''  Why,  Charles,"  said  he» 
impatiently ;  "  you  want  one-fourth  of  eight,  don't  you  ?  " 
"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Charles,  promptly ;  and  I  thought  best 
not  to  insist  further  at  this  time  upon  a  repetition  of  " yes, 
sir"  and  the  class  were  allowed  to  proceed  in  their  own 
way. 

Study  Discouraged. — This  is,  indeed,  an  extreme 
case,  and  yet  it  is  but  a  fair  sample  of  that  teacher's 
method  of  stupefying  mind.  This  habit  of  assisting 
the  pupil  to  some  extent  is,  however,  a  very  common 
one,  and  as  deleterious  to  mind  as  it  is  common.  The 
teacher  should  at  once  abandon  this  practice,  and  re- 
quire the  scholar  to  do  the  talking  at  recitation.  I  need 
hardly  suggest  that  such  a  course  of  extraction  at  reci- 
tation, aside  from  the  waste  of  time  by  both  parties, 
and  the  waste  of  strength  by  the  teacher,  has  direct 
tendency  to  make  the  scholar  miserably  superficial. 
For  why  should  he  study,  if  he  knows  from  constant 
experience  that  the  teacher,  by  a  leading  question,  will 
relieve  him  from  all  embarrassment  ?  It  has  often  been 
remarked,  that  "the  teacher  makes  the  school."  Per- 
haps in  no  way  can  he  more  effectually  make  an  ineffi- 
cient school  than  by  this  drawing-out  process. 

I  look  upon  the  two  processes  just  described  as  very 
prominent  and  prevalent  faults  in  our  modern  teaching ; 
and  if  by  describing  them  thus  fully  I  shall  induce  any 
to  set  a  guard  upon  their  practice  in  this  particular,  J 
shall  feel  amply  rewarded. 


76  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

SECTION  III.   THE  MORE  EXCELLENT  WAY. 

Helping  the- Pupil  is  Dangerous  when  Excessive.— 

It  is  always  a  very  difficult  question  for  the  teacher  to 
settle,  "  How  far  shall  I  help  the  pupil,  and  how  far  shall 
the  pupil  be  required  to  help  himself  ?"  The  teaching 
of  Nature  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  pupil 
should  be  taught  mainly  to  depend  on  his  own  resources. 
This,  too,  I  think  is  the  teaching  of  common  sense. 
Whatever  is  learned  should  be  so  thoroughly  learned 
that  the  next  and  higher  step  may  be  comparatively 
easy.  And  the  teacher  should  always  inquire,  when  he 
is  about  to  dismiss  one  subject,  whether  the  class  under- 
stand it  so  well  that  they  can  go  on  to  the  next.  He 
may,  indeed,  sometimes  give  a  word  of  suggestion  during 
the  preparation  of  a  lesson,  and  by  a  seasonable  hint  save 
the  scholar  the  needless  loss  of  much  time.  But  it  is  a 
very  great  evil  if  the  pupils  acquire  the  habit  of  running 
to  the  teacher,  as  soon  as  a  slight  difficulty  presents  it- 
self, to  request  him  to  remove  it.  Some  teachers,  when 
this  happens,  will  send  the  scholar  to  his  seat  with  a 
reproof,  perhaps ;  while  others,  with  a  mistaken  kindness, 
will  answer  the  question  or  solve  the  problem  themselves 
as  the  shortest  way  to  get  rid  of  it.  Both  these  courses 
are,  in  general,  wrong. 

The  inquirer  should  never  be  frowned  upon  ;  this  may 
discourage  him.  He  should  not  be  relieved  from  labor, 
as  this  will  diminish  his  self-reliance  without  enlighten- 
ing him  ;  for  whatever  is  done  for  a  scholar  without  his 
having  studied  closely  upon  it  himself,  makes  but  a 
feeble  impression  upon  him,  and  is  soon  forgotten. 

The  True  Medium. — The  true  way  is  neither  to 
discourage  inquiry  nor  answer  the  question.  Converse 
with  the  scholar  a  littk  as  to  the  principles  involved  in 


RKIIIT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  77 

the  question ;  refer  him  to  principles  which  he  has  be- 
fore learned,  or  has  now  lost  sight  of ;  perhaps  call  his 
attention  to  some  rule  or  explanation  before  given  to  the 
class ;  go  just  so  far  as  to  enlighten  him  a  little,  and 
put  him  on  the  scent ;  then  leave  him  to  achieve  the  vic- 
tory himself.  There  is  a  great  satisfaction  in  discover- 
ing a  difficult  thing  for  one's  self;  and  the  teacher  does 
the  scholar  a  lasting  injury  who  takes  this  pleasure 
from  him.  The  teacher  should  be  simply  suggestive, 
but  should  never  take  the  glory  of  a  victory  from  the 
scholar  by  doing  his  work  for  him — at  least,  not  until 
he  has  given  it  a  thorough  trial  himself. 

Not  To-day,  Sir. — The  skill  of  the  teacher,  then,  will 
be  best  manifested  if  he  can  contrive  to  awaken  such  a 
spirit  in  the  pupil  that  he  shall  be  very  unwilling  to  be 
assisted  ;  if  he  can  kindle  up  such  a  zeal  that  the  pupil 
will  prefer  to  try  again  and  again  before  he  will  consent 
that  the  teacher  shall  interpose.  I  shall  never  forget  a 
class  of  boys,  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age,  who 
in  the  study  of  algebra  had  imbibed  this  spirit.  A  diffi- 
cult question  had  been  before  the  class  a  day  or  two, 
when  I  suggested  giving  them  some  assistance.  "  Not 
to-day,  sir,"  was  the  spontaneous  exclamation  of  nearly 
every  one.  Nor  shall  I  forget  the  expression  that 
beamed  from  the  countenance  of  one  of  them,  when, 
elated  with  his  success,  he  forgot  the  proprieties  of  the 
school  and  audibly  exclaimed,  "  I've  got  it!  "I've  got  it!" 
It  was  a  great  day  for  him  ;  he  felt,  as  he  never 
before  had  felt,  his  own  might.  Nor  was  it  less  gratify- 
ing to  me  to  find  that  his  fellows  were  still  unwilling  to 
know  his  method  of  solution.  The  next  day  a  large 
number  brought  a  solution  of  their  own,  each  showing 
evidence  of  originality.  A  class  that  has  once  attained 


flS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

to  a  feeling  like  this  will  go  on  to  educate  themselves 
when  they  shall  have  left  the  school  and  the  living 
teacher. 

As  to  the  communication  of  knowledge,  aside  from 
that  immediately  connected  with  school  studies,  there  is 
a  more  excellent  way  than  that  of  pouring  it  in  '  by  the 
process  already  described.  It  is  but  just  that  I  should 
give  a  specimen  of  the  method  of  doing  this.  I 
shall  now  proceed  to  do  so,  under  the  head  of — 

SECTION  IV.  WAKING  UP  MIND. 

Other  than  book-studies. — The  teacher  of  any  expe- 
rience knows  that,  if  he  will  excite  a  deep  and  profitable 
interest  in  his  school,  he  must  teach  many  things  be- 
sides book-studies.  In  our  common  schools  there  will 
always  be  a  company  of  small  children,  who,  not  yet 
having  learned  to  read  understandingly,  will  have  no 
means  of  interesting  themselves,  and  must  depend 
mainly  upon  the  teacher  for  the  interest  they  take  in 
the  school.  This  to  them  is  perhaps  the  most  critical 
period  ot  their  lives.  Whatever  impression  is  now 
made  upon  them  will  be  enduring.  If  there  they  be- 
come disgusted  with  the  dullness  and  confinement  of 
school,  and  associate  the  idea  of  pain  and  repulsiveness 
with  that  of  learning,  who  can  describe  the  injury  done 
to  their  minds  ?  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  teacher  is 
really  skillful,  and  excites  in  them  a  spirit  of  inquiry, 
and  leads  them  in  suitable  ways  to  observe,  to  think, 
and  to  feel  that  the  school  is  a  happy  place  even  for 
children,  it  is  one  great  point  gained. 

General  Exercise. — I  may  suggest  here,  then,  that  it 
would  be  well  to  set  apart  a  few  minutes  once  a  day  for 
a  general  exercise  in  the  school,  when  it  should  be  re- 
quired of  all  to  lay  by  their  studies,  assume  an  erect  atti- 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  79 

tude,  and  give  their  undivided  attention  to  whatever 
the  teacher  may  bring  before  them.  Such  a  course 
would  have  its  physiological  advantages.  It  would  re- 
lieve the  minds  of  all  for  a  few  minutes.  The  erect 
attitude  is  a  healthful  one.  It  would  also  serve  as  a 
short  respite  from  duty,  and  thus  refresh  the  older 
scholars  for  study.  I  may  further  add  that,  for  the 
benefit  of  these  small  children,  every  general  exercise 
should  be  conducted  with  reference  to  them,  and  such 
topics  should  be  introduced  as  they  can  understand. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  following  remarks  to  give  a 
specimen  of  the  manner  of  conducting  such  exercises,  for 
a  few  days,  with  reference  to  waking  up  mind  in  the 
school  and  also  in  the  district. 

Announcement. — Let  us  suppose  that  the  teacher  has 
promised  that  on  the  next  day,  at  ten  minutes  past  ten 
o'clock,  he  shall  request  the  whole  school  to  give  their 
attention  five  minutes,  while  he  shall  bring  something 
there  to  which  he  shall  call  the  attention,  especially  of 
the  little  boys  and  girls  under  seven  years  of  age.  This 
very  announcement  will  excite  an  interest  both  in  school 
and  at  home  ;  and  when  the  children  come  in  the  morn- 
ing, they  will  be  more  wakeful  than  usual  till  the  fixed 
time  arrives.  It  is  very  important  that  this  time  should 
be  fixed,  and  that  the  utmost  punctuality  should  be  ob- 
served, both  as  to  the  beginning  and  ending  of  the  exer- 
cise at  the  precise  time. 

Preparation. — The  teacher,  it  should  be  supposed,  has 
not  made  such  an  announcement  without  considering 
what  he  can  do  when  the  time  arrives.  He  should  have 
a  well-digested  plan  of  operation,  and  one  which  he 
knows  beforehand  that  he  can  successfully  execute. 


80  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Ear  of  Corn. — Let  us  suppose  that  in  preparing  for 
this  exercise  he  looks  about  him  to  find  some  object 
which  he  can  make  his  text ;  and  that  he  finds  upon  his 
study-table  an  ear  of  corn.  He  thinks  carefully  what  he 
he  can  do  with  it,  and  then,  with  a  smile  of  satisfaction, 
he  puts  it  in  his  pocket  for  the  "  general  exercise." 

In  the  morning  he  goes  through  the  accustomed 
duties  of  the  first  hour,  perhaps  more  cheerfully  than 
usual,  because  he  finds  there  is  more  of  animation  and 
wakefulness  in  the  school.  At  the  precise  time  he  gives 
the  signal  agreed  upon,  and  all  the  pupils  drop  their 
studies  and  sit  erect.  When  there  is  perfect  silence  and 
strict  attention  by  all,  he  takes  from  his  pocket  the  ear  of 
corn,  and  in  silence  holds  it  up  before  the  school.  The 
children  smile,  for  it  is  a  familiar  object  ;  and  they 
probably  did  not  suspect  they  were  to  be  fed  with  corn. 

Teacher's  Address  to  the  Children.—  Teacher,  "  Now, 
children,"  addressing  himself  to  the  youngest,  "  I  am 
going  to  ask  you  only  one  question  to-day  about  this  ear 
of  corn.  If  you  can  answer  it  I  shall  be  very  glad  ;  if 
the  little  boys  and  girls  upon  the  front  seat  cannot  give 
the  answer,  I  will  let  those  in  the  next  seat  try  ;  and  so 
on  till  all  have  tried,  unless  our  time  should  expire  be- 
fore the  right  answer  is  given.  I  shall  not  be  surprised 
if  none  of  you  give  the  answer  I  am  thinking  of.  As 
soon  as  I  ask  the  question,  those  who  are  under  seven 
years  old,  that  think  they  can  give  an  answer,  may  raise 
their  hand.  WHAT  is  THIS  EAR  OF  CORN  FOR  ?" 

Their  Answers. — Several  of  the  children  raise  their 
hands,  and  the  teacher  points  to  one  after  another  in 
order,  and  they  rise  and  give  their  answers. 

Mary.     It  is  to  feed  the  geese  with. 

John.     Yes,  and  the  hens  too,  and  the  pigs. 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  81 

Sarah.     My  father  gives  corn  to  the  cows. 

By  this  time  the  hands  of  the  youngest  scholars  are  all 
down  ;  for,  having  been  taken  a  little  by  surprise,  their 
knowledge  is  exhausted.  So  the  teacher  says  that  those 
between  seven  and  ten  years  of  age  may  raise  their  hands. 
Several  instantly  appear.  The  teacher  again  indicates, 
by  pointing,  those  who  may  give  the  answer. 

Charles.  My  father  gives  corn  to  the  horses  when  the 
oats  are  all  gone. 

Daniel.  We  give  it  to  the  oxen  and  cows  and  we  fat 
the  hogs  upon  corn. 

Laura.  It  is  good  to  eat.  They  shell  it  from  the  cobs 
and  send  it  to  mill  and  it  is  ground  into  meal.  They 
make  bread  of  the  meal,  and  we  eat  it. 

Closing  at  the  Right  Time. — This  last  pupil  has 
looked  a  little  further  into  domestic  economy  than  those 
who  answered  before  her.  By  this  time,  perhaps  be- 
fore, the  five  minutes  have  been  nearly  expended,  and  yet 
several  hands  are  up,  and  the  faces  of  several  are  beaming 
with  eagerness  to  tell  their  thoughts.  Let  the 
teacher  then  say,  "  We  will  have  no  more  answers  to- 
day. You  may  think  of  this  matter  till  to-morrow,  and 
then  I  will  let  you  try  again.  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you 
that  none  of  you  have  mentioned  the  use  I  was  thinking 
of,  though  I  confess  I  expected  it  every  minute.  I  shall 
not  be  surprised  if  no  one  of  you  give  this  answer  to- 
morrow. I  shall  now  put  the  ear  of  corn  in  my  desk, 
and  no  one  of  you  must  speak  to  me  about  it  till  to- 
morrow. You  may  now  take  your  studies." 

The  children  now  breathe  more  freely,  while  the  older 
ones  take  their  studies,  and  the  next  class  rs  called.  In 
order  to  succeed,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
teacher  should  positively  refuse  to  hold  any  conversation 


82  Til  HORN    ANH    PR  ACTICK   OK   TEACHING. 

with  the  children   on    the    subject    till   the  next  time  for 
"general  exercise." 

Wait  Till  To-morrow. — During  the  remainder  of 
the  forenoon  the  teacher  will  very  likely  observe  some 
signs  of  thoughtfulness  on  the  part  of  those  little  chil- 
dren who  have  been  habitually  dull  before.  And  per- 
haps some  child,  eager  to  impart  a  new  discovery,  will 
seek  an  opportunity  to  make  it  known  during  the  fore- 
noon. "Wait  till  to-morrow,"  should  be  the  teacher's 
only  reply. 

The  Children  Go  Home. — Now  let  us  follow  these 
children,  as  they  are  dismissed,  while  they  bend  their 
steps  toward  home.  They  cluster  together  in  groups  as 
they  go  down  the  hill,  and  they  seem  to  be  earnestly 
engaged  in  conversation. 

"  I  don't  believe  it  has  any  other  use,"  says  John. 

"  Oi.,  yes,  it  has,"  says  Susan  ;  "  our  teacher  would 
not  say  so  if  it  had  not.  Besides,  did  you  not  see  what 
a  knowing  look  he  had  when  he  drew  up  his  brow  and 
said  he  guessed  we  couldn't  find  it  out  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  mean  to  ask  my  mother,"  says  little  Mary  ; 
•'  I  guess  she  can  tell." 

They  Observe. — By  and  by,  as  they  pass  a  field  of  corn 
Samuel  sees  a  squirrel  running  across  the  street,  with 
both  his  cheeks  distended  with  "plunder" 

They  Inquire. — At  home,  too,  the  ear  of  corn  is  made 
the  subject  of  conversation.  "  What  is  an  ear  of  corn 
for,  mother?"  says  little  Mary,  as  soon  as  they  have 
taken  a  seat  at  the  dinner-table. 

Mother.  An  ear  of  corn,  child?  Why,  don't  you 
know  ?  It  is  to  feed  the  fowls,  and  the  pigs,  and  the 
cattle  ;  and  we  make  bread  of  it,  too, — 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  83 

Mary.  Yes,  we  told  all  that,  but  the  teacher  says  that 
is  not  all. 

Mother.     The  teacher  ? 

Mary.  Yes,  ma'am  ;  the  teacher  had  an  ear  of  corn  at 
school,  and  he  asked  us  what  it  was  for  ;  and  after  we  had 
told  him  everything  we  could  think  of,  he  said  there  was 
another  thing  still.  Now,  I  want  to  find  out,  so  that  / 
can  tell  him. 

The  Family  Become  Interested. — The  consequence 
of  this  would  be  that  the  family,  father,  mother,  and 
older  brothers  and  sisters  would  resolve  themselves  into 
a  committee  of  the  whole  on  the  ear  of  corn.  The  same, 
or  something  like  this,  would  be  true  in  other  families  in 
the  district  ;  and,  by  the  next  morning,  several  children 
would  have  something  further  to  communicate  on  the 
subject.  The  hour  would  this  day  be  awaited  with  great 
interest,  and  the  first  signal  would  produce  perfect  silence. 

Second  Day. — The  teacher  now  takes  the  ear  of  corn 
from  the  desk,  and  displays  it  before  the  school ;  and 
quite  a  number  of  hands  are  instantly  raised,  as  if  eager 
to  be  the  first  to  tell  what  other  use  they  have  discovered 
for  it. 

The  teacher  now  says  pleasantly,  "  The  use  I  am  think- 
ing of  you  have  all  observed,  I  have  no  doubt;  it  is  a 
very  important  use  indeed  ;  but  as  it  is  a  little  out  of  the 
common  course,  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  you  cannot 
give  it.  However,  you  may  try." 

"  It  is  good  to  boil  I"1  says  little  Susan,  almost  spring- 
ing from  the  floor  as  she  speaks. 

i  The  children  themselves  will  be  sure  to  find  some  new  answers  to  such 

questions  as  the  above.    In  giving  in  substance  this  lecture  to  a  gathering  of 

teachers  in  the  autumn  of  1845,  in  one  of  the  busy  villages  of  New  York,  where 

ie  pupils  of  one  of  the  district  schools  were  present  by  invitation,  I  had 

described  a  process  similar  to  that  which  has  been  dwelt  upon  above.     I 


84  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

"  And  it  is  for  squirrels  to  eat,"  says  little  Samuel.  "  I 
saw  one  carry  away  a  whole  mouthful  yesterday  from  the 
cornfield." 

Other  Pupils  Interested. — Others  still  mention  other 
uses  which  they  have  observed.  They  mention  other 
animals  which  feed  upon  it,  or  other  modes  of  cooking 
it.  The  older  pupils  begin  to  be  interested,  and  they 
add  to  the  list  of  uses  named.  Perhaps,  however,  none 
will  name  the  one  the  teacher  has  in  his  own  mind  ;  he 
should  cordially  welcome  the  answer  if  perchance  it  is 
given  ;  if  none  should  give  it,  he  may  do  as  he  thinks 
best  about  giving  it  himself  on  this  occasion.  Perhaps, 
if  there  is  time  he  may  do  so — after  the  following  man- 
ner : — 

The  Secret  Revealed. — "  I  have  told  you  that  the 
answer  I  was  seeking  was  a  very  simple  one  ;  it  is  some- 
thing you  have  all  observed,  and  you  may  be  a  little  dis- 
appointed when  I  tell  you,  The  use  I  have  been  think- 
ing of  for  the  ear  of  corn  is  this: — //  is  to  plant.  It  is 
for  seed,  to  propagate  that  species  of  plant  called  corn." 
Here  the  children  may  look  disappointed,  as  much  as  to 
say,  "  We  knew  that  before." 

A  New  Question. — The  teacher  continues  :  "  And  this 
is  a  very  important  use  for  the  corn  ;  for  if  for  one  year 
none  should  be  planted,  and  all  the  ears  that  grew  the 

given  the  supposed  answers  for  the  first  day,  and  had  described  the  children  as 
pressing  the  question  at  home.  When  I  had  proceeded  as  far  as  to  take  up  the 
ear  of  corn  the  second  day,  and  had  spoken  of  the  possibility  that  the  true 
answer  to  the  question  might  not  be  given,  I  turned  almost  instinctively  to  the 
class  of  children  at  my  right,  saying,  "  Now,  -what  is  the  ear  of  corn  for  •"'  A 
little  boy  some  six  years  of  age,  who  had  swallowed  every  word,  and  whose 
face  glowed  as  if  there  was  not  room  enough  for  his  soul  within  him,  bounded 
upon  his  feet,  and  forgetting  the  publicity-of  the  place,  and  the  gravity  of  the 
chairman  of  the  meeting,  clapping  his  hands  forcibly  together,  "  It's  to  pop  /" 
he  exclaimed  emphatically,  very  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  audience.  His 
mind  had  been  waked  up. 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  85 

year  before  should  be  consumed,  we  should  have  no  more 
corn.  This,  then,  was  the  great  primary  design  of  the 
corn  ;  the  other  uses  you  have  named  were  merely  sec- 
ondary. But  I  mean  to  make  something  more  of  my 
ear  of  corn.  My  next  question  is:  Do  OTHER  PLANTS 
HAVE  SEEDS?"1 

Here  is  a  new  field  of  inquiry.  Many  hands  are  in- 
stantly raised  ;  but  as  the  five  minutes  by  this  time  have 
passed,  leave  them  to  answer  at  the  next  time. 

"  Have  other  plants  seeds  ?"  the  children  begin  to  in- 
quire in  their  own  minds,  and  each  begins  to  think  over 
a  list  of  such  plants  as  he  is  familiar  with.  When  they 
are  dismissed,  they  look  on  the  way  home  at  the  plants 
by  the  roadside,  and  when  they  reach  home  they  run  to 
the  garden.  At  the  table  they  inquire  of  their  parents, 
or  their  brothers  and  sisters. 

Impart  Instruction. — At  the  next  exercise,  they  will 
have  more  than  they  can  tell  in  five  minutes  as  the  re- 
sults of  their  own  observation  and  research.  When 
enough  has  been  said  by  the  children  as  to  the  plants 
which  have  seeds,  the  next  question  may  be  :  Do  ALL 
PLANTS  HAVE  SEEDS?  This  question  will  lead  to  much 
inquiry  at  home  wherever  botany  is  not  well  understood. 
There  are  many  who  are  not  aware  that  all  plants  have 
seeds.  Very  likely  the  ferns  (common  brakes)  will  be 
noticed  by  the  children  themselves.  They  may  also 
name  several  other  plants  which  do  not  exhibit  their 
apparatus  for  seed-bearing  very  conspicuously.  This 
will  prepare  the  way  for  the  teacher  to  impart  a  little 
information.  Nor  is  there  any  harm  in  his  doing  so, 
whenever  he  is  satisfied  that  the  mind  has  been  suitably 
exercised.  The  mind  is  no  longer  a  "  passive  recipient  ;" 

i  Plant  is  here  used  in  the  popular  sense. 


86  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

and  he  may  be  sure  that  by  inquiry  it  has  increased  its 
capacity  to  contain,  and  any  fact  which  now  answers  in- 
quiry, will  be  most  carefully  stored  up. 

Do  Trees  Have  Seeds  ? — The  next  question  may  be  : 
Do  TREES  HAVE  SEEDS?  As  the  children  next  go  out, 
their  eyes  are  directed  to  the  trees  above  them.  The 
fruit-trees,  the  walnut,  the  oak,  and  perhaps  the  pine  will 
be  selected  as  those  which  have  seeds.  They  will,  how- 
ever, mention  quite  a  number  which  do  not,  or  which, 
they  think,  do  not  have  seeds.  Among  these  may  be 
the  elm,  the  birch,  and  the  Lombardy  poplar.  After 
hearing  their  opinions,  and  the  results  of  their  observa- 
tions, take  one  of  their  exceptions  as  the  subject  of  the 
next  question :  Does  the  elm  have  seeds  f  '  This  will  narrow 
their  inquiries  down  to  a  specific  case,  and  every  elm  in 
the  district  will  be  inquired  of  as  to  its  testimony  on  this 
point. 

A  promise. — If  the  children  can  any  of  them  collect 
and  give  the  truth  in  the  matter,  so  much  the  better;  but 
if  they,  after  inquiring  of  their  parents  and  their 
grandparents,  as  I  have  known  a  whole  school  to  do, 
come  back  insisting  that  the  elm  has  no  seeds,  after 
hearing  their  reasons  for  their  belief,  and  perhaps  the 
opinions  of  their  parents,  you  may  promise  to  tell  them 
something  about  it  at  the  next  exercise.  This  will  again 
awaken  expectation,  not  only  among  the  children,  but 
among  the  parents.  All  will  wish  to  know  what  you  have 
to  bring  out. 

A  Caution. — Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  throw 
any  disparagement  upor  the  opinions  of  parents.  Per- 

i  It  is  a  very  common  opinion  in  the  country  that  the  elm  has  no  seeds.  I  once 
knew  a  man  who  grew  gray  under  the  shade  of  a  large  elin,  and  who  insisted 
that  it  never  bore  any  seeds. 


RIGHT  MODES   OF  TEACHING.  87 

haps,  after  giving  the  signal  for  attention,  you  may  pro- 
ceed as  follows : — 

Example  of  Teaching. — "Has  the  elm  tree  any  Seeds  ? 
Perhaps,  children,  you  may  recollect  after  the  cold  win- 
ter has  passed  away,  that  along  in  the  latter  part  of 
March  or  the  first  of  April,  we  sometimes  have  a  warm, 
sunny  day.  The  birds  perhaps  appear  and  begin  to  sing 
a  little,  and  as  you  look  up  to  the  elm,  you  notice  that 
its  buds  seem  to  swell,  and  you  think  it  is  going  to  put 
out  its  leaves.  Everybody  says  we  are  going  to  have  an 
early  spring.  But  after  this  the  cold,  frosty  nights  and 
windy  days  come  on  again,  and  then  you  think  the 
leaves  cannot  come  out  so  early.  Now,  if  you  observe 
carefully,  the  leaves  do  not  come  out  till  about  the  2Oth 
of  May,  or  perhaps  the  first  of  June.  Did  you  ever  see 
anything  like  what  I  have  described?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  we  remember  that." 

"  Well,  the  next  time  you  see  the  buds  begin  to  open, 
just  break  off  a  twig  of  a  good,  large  tree,  and  you  will 
find  they  are  not  the  leaf-buds.  But  if  you  will  watch 
them  carefully  for  two  or  three  weeks,  you  will  find  that 
each  bud  will  put  out  some  beautiful  little  flowers, 
brightly  colored  and  slightly  fragrant.  If  you  will  still 
continue  to  watch  them,  you  will  find,  as  the  flowers  fall 
off,  that  seed-vessels  are  formed,  shaped  very  much  like 
the  parsnip-seed.  These  will  grow  larger  and  larger  every 
day,  and  by  and  by  they  will  turn  brown  and  look  as  if 
they  were  ripe.  Just  about  this  time  the  leaves  will 
come  out ;  and  soon  after,  these  seeds,  during  some  windy 
day  or  night,  will  all  fall  off.  The  ground  will  be  cov- 
ered with  thousands  of  them.  Perhaps  you  have  seen 
this." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  says  John  ;  "  grandpa  calls  that  elm-dust" 


88  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

"  Perhaps  next  year  you  can  watch  this,  and  ask  your 
parents  to  examine  it  with  you.  But  the  five  minutes  are 
ended." 

Now  information  thus  communicated  will  never  be  for- 
gotten. The  mind,  having  been  put  upon  the  stretch,  is 
no  longer  a  passive  recipient. 

A  New  Question. — The  next  question  :  How  ARE 
SEEDS  DISSEMINATED  ? — (of  course  explaining  the  term — 
"  disseminated."} 

Results. — This  will  bring  in  a  fund  of  information 
from  the  pupils.  They  will  mention  that  the  thistle-seed 
flies,  and  so  does  the  seed  of  the  milkweed  ;  that  the 
burs  of  the  burdock,  and  some  other  seeds,  are  provided 
with  hooks  by  which  they  attach  themselves  to  the  hair 
of  animals  or  the  clothing  of  men,  and  ride  away  to  their 
resting-place,  which  may  be  a  hundred  miles  off.  Some 
fall  into  the  water  and  sail  away  to  another  shore.  Some, 
like  the  seed  of  the  Touch-me-not,  are  thrown  at  a  dis- 
tance by  the  bursting  of  the  elastic  pericarp ;  others,  as 
nuts  and  acorns,  are  carried  by  squirrels  and  buried  be- 
neath the  leaves.  These  facts  would  mostly  be  noticed 
by  children  when  once  put  upon  observation. 

Two  Other  Questions. — Next  question  : — Are  plants 
propagated  in  any  other  way  than  by  seeds  ? 

This  question  would  call  their  attention  to  the  various 
means  of  natural  and  artificial  propagation,  by  layers?  by 
offsets,  by  suckers,  by  grafting,  by  inoculation  or  bud- 
ding, etc. 

Again  :  Have  any  plants  more  ways  than  one  of  natural 
propagation  ?  Some  have  one  way  only,  by  seeds,  as  the 
annual  plants  ;  some  have  two, — by  seeds,  and  by  roots, 
as  the  potato ;  some  have  three, — as  the  tiger-lily,  by 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  89 

side-bulbs  from  the  roots,  by  stalk-bulbs,  and  by  the  seeds. 
This  can  be  extended  indefinitely. 

SECTION   V.     REMARKS. 

Simply  a  Specimen.— Let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
above  has  been  given  simply  as  a  specimen  of  what 
could  easily  be  done  by  an  ingenious  teacher  with  as 
common  a  thing  as  an  ear  of  corn  for  the  text.  Any 
other  thing  would  answer  as  well.  A  chip,  a  tooth,  or  a 
bone  of  an  animal,  a  piece  of  iron,  a  feather,  or  any 
other  object,  could  be  made  the  text  for  adroitly  bring- 
ing in  the  uses  of  wood,  the  food  and  habits  of  animals. 
the  use  and  comparative  value  of  metals,  the  covering 
of  birds,  their  migration,  the  covering  of  animals,  etc. 
Let  the  teacher  but  think  what  department  he  will 
dwell  upon,  and  then  he  can  easily  select  his  text ;  and, 
if  he  has  any  tact,  he  can  keep  the  children  constantly 
upon  inquiry  and  observation. 

•  The  advantages  of  the  above  course  over  simply  lec- 
turing to  them  on  certain  subjects — that  is,  over  the 
pouring-in  process — are  many  and  great.  Some  of  the 
most  obvious  I  will  briefly  state  :  — 

i .  //  immediately  puts  the  minds  oftJie  children  into  a  state 
of  vigorous  activity.  They  feel  that  they  are  no  longer/<7.r- 
sivc  recipients.  They  are  incited  to  discover  and  ascertain 
for  themselves.  They  are,  therefore,  profitably  employed 
both  in  and  out  of  school,  and  as  a  consequence  are  more 
easily  governed.  A  habit  of  observation  is  cultivated  in 
them  ;  and  what  an  advantage  is  this  for  a  child  !  It  is 
almost  unnecessary  to  remark  that  many  people  go 
through  the  world  without  seeing  half  the  objects  which 
are  brought  within  their  reach.  It  would  be  the  same  to 
them  if  their  eyes  were  half  the  time  closed.  If  they 


90  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

travel  through  a  country  presenting  the  most  beautiful 
scenery,  or  the  most  interesting  geological  features,  they 
see  nothing.  They  grow  up  among  all  the  wonders  of 
God's  works,  amid  all  the  displays  of  His  wisdom,  of  His 
design,  to  no  purpose.  They  study  none  of  the  plans  of 
Nature  ;  and  by  all  the  millions  of  arrangements  which 
God  has  made  to  delight  the  eye,  to  gratify  the  taste,  to 
excite  the  emotions  of  pleasure  instead  of  pain,  they  are 
neither  the  happier  nor  the  wiser. 

What  a  blessing,  then,  it  is  to  a  child  to  put  his  mind 
upon  inquiry  ;  to  open  his  eyes  to  observe  what  'his 
Creator  intended  His  intelligent  creatures  should  behpld, 
of  His  goodness,  His  wisdom,  His  power.  And  how  far 
superior  is  he  who  teaches  a  child  to  see  for  himself,  and 
to  think  for  himself,  to  him  who  sees  and  thinks  for  the 
child,  and  thus  practically  invites  the  pupil  to  close  his 
own  eyes  and  grope  in  darkness  through  the  instructive 
journey  of  life. 

Parents  Benefited  and  Interested  in  the  School.— 
2, — //  is  of  great  service  to  the  parents  in  the  district  to  have 
this  waking-up  process  in  operation.  Our  childen  are  some- 
times our  best  teachers.  Parents  are  apt  to  grow  rusty 
in  their  acquirements,  and  it  is  no  doubt  one  of  the  de- 
signs of  Providence  that  the  inquisitiveness  of  childhood 
should  preserve  them  from  sinking  into  mental  inactivity. 
Who  can  hear  the  inquiries  of  his  own  child  after  know- 
ledge without  a  desire  to  supply  his  wants  ?  Now  it  is 
right  for  the  teacher  to  use  this  instrumentality  to  wake 
up  mind  in  his  district.  Parents,  by  the  course  I  have 
recommended,  very  soon  become  interested  in  these 
daily  questions  of  the  teacher  ;  and  they  are  often  as 
eager  to  know  what  is  the  next  question  as  the  children 
are  to  report  it.  This  course,  then,  will  supply  profitable 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  91 

topics  of  conversation  at  the  fireside,  and  very  likely  will 
encourage  also  the  pursuit  of  useful  reading.  It  will, 
moreover,  soon  awaken  a  deeper  interest  in  the  school 
on  the  part  of  the  parents.  They  will  begin  to  inquire 
of  one  another  as  to  this  new  measure ;  and  when  they 
find  by  conference  that  the  feeling  in  this  matter  is  be- 
coming general  they  will  desire  to  visit  the  school  to  wit- 
ness this  as  well  as  the  other  operations  of  the  teacher. 
This  will  secure  parental  co-operation,  and  thus  in  every 
way  the  influence  of  the  school  will  be  heightened.  It 
is  no  small  thing  for  a  teacher  to  enlist  the  interest  of 
his  patrons  in  the  success  of  his  school ;  and  this  is  the 
most  happily  done  when  it  is  achieved  through  the  medi- 
um of  the  pupils  themselves. 

Teacher  is  Improved. — 3.  //  wakes  up  the  teacher  s 
oivu  mind.  This  is  by  no  means  the  least  important 
point  to  be  gained.  The  teacher,  by  the  very  nature  of 
his  employment,  by  daily  confinement  in  an  unhealthy 
atmosphere,  by  teaching  over  and  over  again  that  with 
which  he  is  quite  familiar,  by  boarding  with  people  who 
are  inclined  to  be  social,  and  by  the  fatigue  and  languor 
with  which  he  finds  himself  oppressed  every  night,  is 
strongly  tempted  to  neglect  his  own  improvement. 
There  are  but  few  who  rise  above  this  accumulation  of 
impediments,  and  go  on  in  spite  of  them  to  eminence  in 
the  profession.  A  large  proportion  of  all  who  teach 
rely  upon  the  attainments  with  which  they  commence  , 
and  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  finding  them- 
selves behind  the  age,  they  abandon  the  employment. 
This  is  very  natural.  Any  man  who  treads  in  a  beaten 
track,  like  a  horse  in  a  mill,  must  become  weary,  how- 
ever valuable  the  product  may  be  which  he  grinds  out.  It 
is  essential  that  he  should  keep  his  own  interest  awake  by 


92  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

some  exercise  of  his  ingenuity,  and  that  he  should  com- 
pel himself  to  be  industrious  by  undertaking  that  which 
will  absolutely  demand  study.  The  above  process  will 
do  this ;  and  while  he  may  have  the  exquisite  pleasure 
of  seeing  the  growth  of  his  pupils'  minds,  he  may  also 
have  the  higher  satisfaction  of  feeling  the  growth  of  his 
own. 

Books  Not  to  be  Neglected. — I  must  here  add  that 
it  has  not  been  my  intention,  in  what  I  have  said,  to 
inculcate  the  idea  that  the  study  of  books  should  in 
the  least  degree  be  abated  to  make  room  for  this  pro- 
cess of  waking  up  mind.  The  various  branches  are  to 
be  pursued  and  as  diligently  pursued  as  ever  before. 
The  time  to  be  set  apart  for  this  exercise  should  be 
short — never,  probably,  to  exceed  five  minutes.  It  is  to 
come  in  when  the  scholars  need  rest  for  a  moment,  and 
when,  if  not  employed  about  this,  they  would  probably 
be  doing  nothing,  or  perhaps  worse  than  nothing.  It 
should  be  managed  with  care,  and  should  never  be  made 
a  hobby  by  teachers,  as  if  it  were  of  more  importance 
than  anything  else.  One  secret  of  success  in  this — as 
indeed  in  everything — is  that  it  should  not  be  continued 
too  long  at  once.  The  pupils  should  be  left  "  longing — 
not  loathing." 

Given  Only  as  a  Specimen. — Let  me  again  remind 
the  reader  that  I  have  given  the  above  as  a  specimen. 
The  choice  of  the  ear  of  corn  was  merely  accidental ;  it 
happened  to  lie  on  my  table  when  I  wanted  a  text.  The 
teacher  should  look  upon  this  simply  as  a  specimen,  and 
then  choose  his  own  subjects.  The  main  point  aimed  at 
is  this  :  Never  ask  leading  questions,  which  your  scholars 
can  hardly  fail  to  answer ;  and  never  lecture  to  your 
pupils  till  you  have  somehow  first  kindled  in  them  a  liv- 


RIGHT  MODES  OF  TEACHING.  !C! 

ing  desire  to  know ;  that  is,  avoid  alike  the  "  drawing- 
out  "  and  the  "  pouring-in "  process.  Rather  let  it  be 
your  object  to  excite  inquiry  by  a  question  they  cannot 
answer  without  thought  and  observation, — and  such  a 
question  as  they  would  deem  it  disgraceful  not  to  be 
able  to  answer.  This  adroitly  done  is  "  waking  up 


'.'4  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS. 

Difference  in  Teachers.— In  considering  a  teacher's 
qualifications,  the  power  of  exciting  an  interest  in  the 
recitations  of  his  school  may  not  be  overlooked.  No  man 
can  be  successful  for  any  length  of  time  without  this. 
This  comprises  what  is  usually  implied  by  APTNESS  TO 
TEACH.  All  men  have  not  this  faculty  by  nature  in  an 
equal  degree.  Some  may  taJk  for  an  hour  upon  an  inter- 
esting topic  in  the  presence  of  children  without  com- 
manding their  attention  ;  while  there  are  others  who  can 
take  even  a  common-place  subject  and  secure  for  any 
length  of  time  an  all-absorbing  interest  in  every  word. 
This  difference  is  seen  in  every  grade  of  public  speakers, 
and  in  all  descriptions  of  writers ;  but  perhaps  more 
strikingly  than  anywhere  else  it  is  observable  among 
teachers.  Enter  one  school  and  you  may  notice  that  the 
scholars  are  dull  and  listless  ;  indifference  sits  undisturbed 
upon  their  brows;  or  perhaps  they  are  driven  by  the 
activity  of  their  own  natures  to  some  expedient  to  interest 
themselves,  while  the  teacher  is,  with  very  commendable 
spirit  laboriously — perhaps  learnedly — explaining  some 
principle  or  fact  designed  for  their  edification.  The  secret 
is,  he  has  not  yet  learned  to  awaken  their  attention  .  he 
fails  to  excite  their  interest. 

Pass  to  another  school.  A  breathless  silence  pervades 
the  room  ;  the  countenances  of  the  children,  upturned 
towards  the  teacher,  beam  with  delight.  As  he  kindles 


CONDUCTING   K  KC I  TAT  I  ON  S. 

into  earnestness  and  eloquence,  they  kindle  into  respon- 
sive enthusiasm.  Whenever  his  eye  meets  theirs,  he  sees — 
hefee/s  the  glow  radiated  by  the  fire  he  is  lighting  in  their 
souls,  and  his  own  gathers  new  warmth  and  enthusiasm 
in  return.  Such  a  man  is  apt  to  teach ;  and  you  could 
scarcely  break  the  spell  by  which  he  holds  his  class, 
"  though  you  should  give  them,  for  playthings,  shining 
fragments  broken  from  off  the  sun." 

He  who  possesses  this  gift  naturally  has  very  great  ad- 
vantage as  a  teacher  to  begin  with.  -  The  ability  to  tell 
well  what  he  knows  is  of  more  consequence  to  the  teacher 
than  the  greatest  attainments  without  the  power  to  com- 
municate them.  Combine  high  attainments  with  the 
ability  to  tell,  and  you  have  the  accomplished  teacher. 

Aptness  Not  Always  a  Natural  Gift.— But  this  power 
to  communicate  is  not  necessarily  a  natural  gift ;  it 
comes  not  always  by  intuition.  It  can  be  acquired.  It 
is  founded  in  philosophy  ;  and  he  who  can  understand 
anything  of  the  workings  of  his  own  mind,  who  can 
revert  to  the  mental  processes  he  went  through  in  order 
to  comprehend  a  principle,  who  can  go  back  to  that  state 
of  mind  he  was  in  before  he  comprehended  it,  and  then 
by  one  step  more  can  put  himself  in  the  place  of  the 
child  he  is  teaching,  realizing  exactly  his  perplexities  and 
feeling  his  precise  wants,  can  become  the  apt  teacher. 
Those  who  fail  in  this  are  usually  those  who  have  for- 
gotten the  steps  they  took  to  acquire  their  own  knowl- 
edge, or  perhaps  who  never  noticed  what  steps  they  did 
take. 

How  Acquired. — To  acquire  this  rare  qualification 
should  be  the  constant  study  of  the  teacher.  To  this 
end  he  should  recall,  as  far  as  possible,  the  operations  of 
his  own  mind  in  childhood.  By  studying  his  own  mind, 


96  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

he  learns,  often  most  effectually,  what  he  needs  to  know 
of  others.  Whenever  he  is  preparing  to  teach  any 
principle  or  fact  to  others,  let  him  ask  himself  questions 
like  the  following :  What  was  the  dark  point  in  this 
when  I  studied  it  ?  Where  did  my  mind  labor  most  ? 
What  point  did  my  teacher  fail  to  explain  ?  Such  ques- 
tions will  frequently  suggest  the  very  difficulty  which 
perplexes  every  mind  in  the  same  process.  Again,  the 
following  inquiries  may  be  very  useful :  In  studying 
this,  what  was  the  first  point  which  appeared  clear  to 
me  ?  After  this,  what  was  the  second  step,  and  how  did 
that  follow  the  first  ?  The  next  in  order  ?  And  the 
next?  Was  this  the  natural  order  ?  If  not,  what  is  the 
natural  order  ?  The  right  answers  to  these  questions 
will  suggest  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  instruction 
of  a  class. 

Science  of  Teaching.— The  teacher  can  scarcely  ask 
a  more  important  question  than  this  :  What  is  the 
natural  order  of  presenting  a  given  subject?  The  abil- 
ity to  determine  this  is  what  constitutes  in  a  great 
degree  the  science  of  teaching.  This  inquiry  should 
occupy  much  thought,  because  a  mistake  here  is  disas- 
trous, and  ever  will  be,  as  long  as  Divine  wisdom  is 
superior  to  human.  He  who  can  ascertain  the  order  of 
Nature  will  be  most  sure  of  exciting  an  interest  in  the 
subject  he  is  endeavoring  to  teach. 

Some  further  suggestions  as  to  conducting  school  reci- 
tations are  contained  in  the  following  paragraphs:  — 

Advantages  of  Thorough  Knowledge  to  the  Teach- 
er —  I  The  teacher  should  thoroughly  understand  what  he 
attempts  to  teach.  It  is  destructive  of  all  life  in  the 
exercise,  if  the  teacher  is  constantly  chained  down  to  the 
text-book.  I  have  no  objection,  indeed,  that  he  should 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  97 

take  his  text-book  with  him  to  the  class,  and  that  he 
should  occasionally  refer  to  it  to  refresh  his  own  mem- 
ory, or  to  settle  a  doubt.  But  who  does  not  know  that 
a  teacher  who  is  perfectly  familiar  with  what  is  to  be 
taught  has  ten  times  the  vivacity  of  one  who  is  obliged 
to  follow  the  very  letter  of  the  book?  His  own  enthusi- 
asm glows  in  his  countenance,  sparkles  in  his  eye,  and 
leaps  from  his  tongue.  He  watches  the  halting  of  the 
pupil,  perceives  his  difficulty,  devises  his  expedient  for 
illustrating  the  dark  point  in  some  new  way,  and  at  the 
proper  moment  renders  just  the  amount  of  assistance 
which  the  pupil  needs.  Not  confined  to  the  text,  he  has 
the  use  of  his  eyes;  and,  when  he  speaks  or  explains,  he 
can  accompany  his  remark  with  a  quickening  look  of  in- 
telligence. In  this  way  his  class  is  enlivened.  They 
respect  him  for  his  ready  attainment,  and  they  are  fired 
with  a  desire  to  be  his  equal. 

Printed  Questions. — How  different  is  it  with  a 
teacher  who  knows  nothing  of  the  subject  but  what  is 
contained  in  the  text  before  him,  and  who  knows  that 
only  as  he  reads  it  during  the  intervals  occasioned  by 
the  hesitations  of  the  class  !  Every  question  he  pro- 
poses is  printed  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  :  and  as  soon 
as  he  reads  the  question,  without  a  glance  at  the  pupil, 
his  eye  sets  out  on  a  chase  after  the  answer  in  the  text. 
If  the  scholar  has  not  already  been  stupefied  by  such  teach- 
ing, and  happens  to  give  an  intelligent  answer,  yet  not 
in  the  precise  language  of  the  book,  he  is  set  right  by 
the  teacher's  reading  the  very  words — just  so  much  de- 
tached from  the  sentence  as  he  fancies  was  intended  to 
answer  that  one  question  !  In  this  way  he  discourages 
thought  in  his  pupils,  and  sets  a  bounty  on  mechanical 
study.  In  this  way,  too,  he  congeals  whatever  of  inter- 


98  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

est  they  bring  with  them  to  the  recitation,  and  they  sink 
into  indifference ;  or,  following  the  instincts  of  their 
nature,  they  seek  occupation  in  play  or  mischief,  even 
under  the  sound  of  his  voice  ! 

Special  Preparation. — 2.  The  teacher  should  specially 
prepare  himself  for  each  lesson  he  assigns.  This  is  nat- 
urally suggested  by  what  has  just  been  said.  The 
teacher's  memory  needs  to  be  refreshed.  We  all  know 
how  difficult  it  would  be  to  recite  a  lesson,  in  geometry, 
for  instance,  weeks  after  studying  it.  It  is  so  in  other 
things.  Now  the  teacher  should  be  so  familiar  with  the 
lesson  which  he  proposes  to  hear  recited,  that  he  could 
recite  it  himself  as  perfectly  as  he  would  desire  his 
scholars  to  do  it.  This  is  seldom  the  case.  I  have 
heard  a  teacher,  with  the  text-book  in  his  hands,  com- 
plain of  the  dulness  or  inaccuracy  of  his  classes,  when, 
if  the  tables  had  been  turned  and  the  pupils  allowed  to 
ask  the  questions,  the  teacher  would  scarcely  have  re- 
cited as  well.  And  I  may  add,  this  is  no  very  uncom- 
mon thing!  If  anyone  is  startled  at  this  assertion,  let 
him  request  a  friend,  in  whom  he  can  confide,  to  ask 
him  the  questions  of  a  particular  lesson  in  geography,  or 
history,  or  grammar.  The  teacher  should  daily  study  his 
class  lessons.  This  will  enable  him  the  better  to  assign 
his  lessons  judiciously.  In  this  daily  study  he  should 
master  the  text-book  upon  the  subject ;  and,  more  than 
this,  he  should  consider  what  collateral  matter  he  can 
bring  in  to  illustrate  the  lesson.  He  should  draw  upon 
the  resources  of  his  own  mind, — upon  the  treasures  of 
his  common-place  book,1 — upon  the  contents  of  some  ency- 

i  It  is  an  excellent  plan  for  every  teacher  to  keep  a  common-place  book  of  con- 
siderable size,  different  portions  of  it  being  set  apart  for  the  different  subjects 
upon  which  he  is  to  give  instruction.  On  the  first  twenty  pages,  "  Geography  " 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  96 

clopedia, — upon  any  source  from  whence  he  can  obtain 
a  supply  of  knowledge  for  his  purpose.  This  will  im- 
prove his  own  mind,  and  he  will  be  encouraged,  as  from 
time  to  time  he  teaches  the  same  branch,  to  find  that  he 
is  able  to  do  better  than  ever  before,  and  that,  instead  of 
becoming  weary  with  repetition,  he  is  more  and  more 
enthusiastic  in  the  subject. 

Use  of  the  Eye. — Going  thus  to  his  class — so  full  of 
the  subject  that,  were  the  text-book  annihilated,  he 
could  make  another  and  better  one — he  will  have  no 
difficulty  to  secure  attention.  As  he  speaks  his  eye  ac- 
companies his  word,  and  as  his  pupils  answer  he  sees 
the  expression  of  their  countenances ;  and  what  a  world 
of  meaning  there  is  in  this  expression  !  It  betrays,  bet- 
ter than  words  can  do,  the  clearness  or  obscurity  of  the 
mind's  perception  when  a  truth  is  presented.  How 
different  the  beaming  of  the  eye  when  the  soul  appre- 
hends, from  that  almost  idiotic  stare  at  vacuity  when 
words  are  used  without  import  !  And  how  necessary  it 
is  that  the  teacher  should  be  free  to  observe  the  inward 
workings  of  the  soul  as  indicated  upon  the  countenance ! 

Correct  Language. — 3.  The  teacher  should  be  able  to 
use  our  language  fluently  and  correctly.  In  this  many 

may  be  the  head, — the  next  twenty  pages  may  be  set  apart  for  "  History,"— 
twenty  more  may  be  assigned  to  "  Reading,"— and  a  like  number  to  ''Arith- 
metic." "Grammar,"  "Spelling,"  "  Writing,"  etc.,  reserving  quite  a  space  for 
"  Miscellaneous  Matter."  This  would  make  a  large  book,  but  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  it  is  to  be  used  for  several  years,  it  is  well  to  have  it  large 
enough  to  contain  a  large  amount  of  matter.  Now,  whenever  the  teacher  hears 
a  lecture,  on  a  peculiar  method  of  teaching  either  of  these  branches,  let  him 
note  the  prominent  parts  of  it  under  the  proper  head,  and  especially  the  illustra- 
tions. When  he  reads  or  hears  an  anecdote  illustrating  Geography,  History,  or 
Grammar,  let  it  be  copied  under  the  proper  head.  If  it  illustrates  Geography, 
let  the  name  of  the  place  stand  at  its  head.  When  he  visits  a  school,  and  listens 
to  a  new  explanation  or  a  new  process,  let  him  note  it  under  its  head.  In  this 
way  he  may  collect  a  thousand  valuable  things  to  be  used  with  judgment  in 
his  school. 


100  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

are  deficient.  They  hesitate  and  stammer,  and  after 
all  express  their  ideas  in  vague  terms,  and  perhaps  by 
the  use  of  inaccurate  or  inelegant  language.  A  teacher 
in  no  way  gives  so  effectual  instruction  in  grammar  as  by 
his  own  use  of  our  language  ;  and  there  can  be  no  sight 
more  mortifying  than  that  of  a  teacher  laboring  to  fix  in 
the  minds  of  his  class  some  rule  of  syntax,  when  his  own 
language  at  the  very  moment  shows  an  entire  disregard 
of  the  rule.  It  is  very  common  to  hear  teachers  talk  of 
"  sums  "  to  their  classes  in  arithmetic,  and  even  to  ask 
them  to  do  "  sums  "  in  subtraction  or  division  !  The 
term  "  question "  is  often  as  improperly  applied  when 
no  question  is  asked.  The  teacher  should  be  accurate 
in  the  use  of  terms.  "  Question "  is  sometimes  the 
proper  word ;  sometimes  "  problem,"  and  sometimes 
"exercise,"  or  "  example,"  may  with  more  propriety  be 
used  ;  but  "sum  "  means  the  amount  of  several  numbers 
when  added,  and  it  should  not  be  applied  as  the  name 
of  an  exercise.  Some  teachers  use  the  terms  ratio  and 
proportion  1  interchangeably  as  if  they  were  synonyms. 
Such  inaccuracies  in  the  teacher  will  be  sure  to  be  re- 
produced in  the  school,  and  it  is  a  great  evil  for  the 
scholar  to  acquire  a  careless  habit  in  the  use  of  terms. 

Animation. — 4.  He  should  have  proper  animation  him- 
self. Horace  Mann  describes  some  of  the  Scotch  teachers 
as  working  themselves  up  into  a  feverish  excitement  in  the 
presence  of  their  classes,  and  the  classes  in  turn  as  liter- 
ally bounding  from  the  floor  when  they  answer  their 


»  We  are  reminded  by  this  of  the  college  student  who  was  examined 
rather  closely  by  his  tutor.  "What  is  ratio?"  inquired  the  tutor.  "Ratio," 
said  the  yonnf?  man,  "ratio  is  proportion." — "Well,  what  is  proportion?" 
—"Proportion?  proportion  is  ratio." — "Well,  then,"  said  the  tutor,  looking 
perplexed,  "what  are  both  together  ?"—"  Excuse  me,"  said  the  pupil,  "/  can 
define  but  one  at  a  time  .'  " 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  101 

hasty  questions.  Now,  while  I  think  these  Scotch  teach- 
ers go  quite  too  far,  I  do  think  that  many  of  our  own 
teachers  come  short  of  a  proper  standard  of  animation. 
A  teacher  should  be  ready,  without  being  rapid;  ani- 
mated, without  being  boisterous.  Children  are  imitative 
beings ;  and  it  is  astonishing  to  observe  how  very  soon 
they  catch  the  manners  of  the  teacher.  If  he  is  heavy 
and  plodding  in  his  movements,  they  will  very  soon  be 
dull  and  drowsy  in  theirs  ;  then,  if  he  speaks  in  a  sprightly 
tone  and  moves  about  with  an  elastic  step,  they  almost 
realize  a  resurrection  from  the  dead.  If  he  appears  ab- 
sent-minded, taking  but  little  interest  in  the  lesson  which 
is  recited,  they  will  be  as  inattentive,  at  least,  as  he ; 
while,  if  all  his  looks  and  actions  indicate  that  the  sub- 
ject is  of  some  importance,  he  will  gain  their  attention. 
Nor  can  I  refrain  in  this  place  from  suggesting  to  the 
teacher  the  importance  of  regarding  his  manners  while 
engaged  in  conducting  a  recitation.  His  attitude  should 
not  be  one  of  indolence  or  coarseness ;  and  when  he 
moves  from  his  seat,  and  appears  at  the  blackboard  to 
illustrate  any  point,  it  should  be  done  gracefully,  and 
with  a  constant  regard  to  the  fact  that  every  look  and 
every  motion  teaches. 

The  Attention  of  the  Class. — 5.  He  should  never  pro- 
ceed without  the  attention  of  the  class.  A  loss  of  interest 
is  sure  to  follow  a  want  of  attention.  Besides,  a  habit  of 
inattention,  while  it  is  very  common,  is  also  a  great 
calamity  to  the  person  who  falls  into  it  during  life. 
Many  a  sermon  is  lost  upon  a  portion  of  the  audience  in 
our  churches  every  Sabbath  from  this  cause.  When  the 
attention  is  aroused,  the  impression  made  is  enduring: 
and  one  idea  then  communicated  is  worth  a  hundred  at 
any  other  time. 


102  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Books  but  Helps. — 6.  Avoid  a  formal  routine  in  teach- 
ing. Children  are  very  apt  to  imbibe  the  notion  that 
they  study  in  order  to  recite.  They  have  but  little  idea  of 
any  purpose  of  acquirement  beyond  recitation ;  hence 
they  study  their  text-book  as  mere  words.  The  teacher 
should,  as  soon  as  possible,  lead  them  to  study  the  sub- 
ject, using  the  book  simply  as  an  instrument.  "  Books 
are  but  helps  " — should  become  their  motto.  In  order 
to  bring  this  about,  the  instructor  would  do  well  occa- 
sionally to  leave  entirely  the  order  of  the  book,  and  ques- 
tion them  on  the  topic  they  have  studied.  If  they  are 
pursuing  arithmetic,  for  instance,  and  they  have  carefully 
prepared  a  definite  number  of  problems,  it  might  be  well 
to  test  their  ability  by  giving  them  at  the  recitation  others 
of  the  teacher's  own  preparing,  involving  an  application 
of  what  they  have  learned  to  the  business  of  life.  This 
will  lead  them  to  study  intelligently.  Besides,  as  soon 
as  they  begin  to  see  how  their  knowledge  is  to  be  riseful 
to  them,  they  have  a  new  motive  to  exertion.  They 
should  be  so  taught  as  to  discover  that  grammar  will 
improve  their  understanding  and  use  of  language  ;  that 
writing  will  prepare  them  for  business,  and,  by  enabling 
them  to  communicate  with  their  friends,  will  add  to  their 
enjoyment ;  and  so  of  reading  and  the  other  branches. 

Intelligible  Language — 7.  Be  careful  to  use  language 
which  is  intelligible  to  children  whenever  an  explanation  is 
given.  The  object  of  an  explanation  is  to  elucidate,  to 
make  clearer.  How  is  this  object  accomplished  when  the 
explanation  is  less  intelligible  than  the  thing  explained  ? 
Suppose  a  child  should  ask  her  teacher  to  explain  the 
cause  of  cold  in  winter  and  heat  in  summer;  in  other 
words,  the  cause  of  the  change  of  seasons.  "  Oh,  yes," 
says  he,  pleasantly.  ''  The  annual  revolution  of  the  earth 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  103 

round  the  sun,  in  connection  with  the  obliquity  of  the 
ecliptic,  occasions  the  succession  of  the  four  seasons."  l 
The  child  listens  to  these  "  words  of  learned  length,"  and 
is  astonished  at  the  learning  of  her  teacher,  but  she  had 
no  clearer  idea  than  before  of  the  point  she  inquired 
about. 

An  Example  Quoted.— Mr.  S.  R.  Hall,  in  his  lectures, 
gives  the  following  forcible  illustration  of  the  same 
point :  "  Will  you  please  to  tell  me  why  I  carry  one  for 
every  ten?"  said  little  Laura  to  her  instructor.  "Yes, 
my  dear,"  said  he,  kindly.  x "  It  is  because  numbers  in- 
crease from  right  to  left  in  a  decimal  ratio."  Laura 
sat  and  repeated  it  to  herself  two  or  three  times,  and 
then  looked  very  sad.  The  master,  as  soon  as  he  had 
answered,  pursued  his  other  business  and  did  not  notice 
her.  But  she  was  disappointed.  She  understood  him 
no  better  than  if  he  had  used  words  of  another  language. 
"  Decimal ''  and  "  ratio  "  were  words  that  might  have 
fallen  on  her  ear  before,  but  if  so,  she  understood  them 
none  the  better  for  it.  She  looked  in  the  dictionary  and 
was  disappointed  again,  and  after  some  time  put  away 
her  arithmetic.  When  asked  by  her  teacher  why  she 
did  so,  she  replied  ;  '  I  don't  like  to  study  it  ;  I  can't 
understand  it.' ' 

"  Now  the  injury  to  little  Laura  was  very  great.  She 
had  commenced  the  study  with  interest ;  she  had  learned 
to  answer  a  great  many  questions  in  arithmetic,  and  had 
been  pleased.  She  was  now  using  a  slate  and  writing 
her  figures  on  it,  and  had  found  the  direction  to  carry 
one  for  every  ten.  This  she  might  have  been  made  to 
understand  The  master  loved  his  scholars  and  wished 
to  benefit  them,  but  forgot  that  terms  perfectly  plain  to 

j  Worcester's  Geography. 


104  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

him  ivonld  be  unintelligible  to  the  child.  From  that  mo- 
ment Laura  disliked  arithmetic,  and  every  effort  that 
could  be  used  with  her  could  not  efface  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  a  hard  study,  and  she  could  not  under- 
stand it." 

Honest  Confession, — Not  Mystification. — While  upon 
this  subject  I  might  urge  that  teachers  should  not 
resort  to  evasion  when  they  are  not  able  to  explain.  It 
is  a  much  more  honorable  and  far  more  satisfactory 
course  for  the  teacher  frankly  to  confess  his  inability  to 
explain,  than  to  indulge  in  some  ridiculous  mysticism 
to  keep  up  the  show  of  knowledge.  I  may  never  forget 
the  passage  I  first  made  through  the  Rule  of  Three,  and 
the  manner  in  which  my  manifold  perplexities  respecting 
"  direct  "  and  "  inverse  "  proportion  were  solved.  "  Sir," 
said  I,  after  puzzling  a  long  time  over  '  more  requiring 
more  and  less  requiring  less' — "will  you  tell  me  why  I 
sometimes  multiply  the  second  and  third  terms  together 
and  divide  by  the  first,  and  at  other  times  multiply  the 
first  and  second  and  divide  by  the  third?  ''  "  Why,  be- 
cause more  requires  more  sometimes,  and  sometimes  it 
requires  less — to  be  sure.  Haven'-t  you  read  the  rule, 
my  boy?  " — "  Yes,  sir,  I  can  repeat  the  rule,  but  I  don't 
understand  it."  — "  Why,  it  is  because  'more  requires 
more  and  less  requires  less  !  '  " — "  But  why,  sir,  do  I 
multiply  as  the  rule  says  ?  " — "  Why,  because  '  more  re- 
quires more  and  less  requires  less' — see,  the  rule  says 
so" — "  I  know  the  rule  says  so,  but  I  wished  to  under- 
stand why" — 4<  Why  ?  why  ?  "  looking  at  me  as  if  idiocy 
itself  trembled  before  him— "why? — why  because  the 
rule  says  so;  don't  you  see  it  f — ^^"More  requires 
more  and  less  requires  less!" — and  in  the  midst  of  this 
inexplicable  combination  of  more  and  less,  I  shrank 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  105 

away  to  my  seat  blindly  to  follow  the  rule  because  it 
said  so.  Such  teaching  as  this  is  enough  to  stultify  the 
most  inquiring  mind  ;  and  it  is  to  secure  the  blessing 
of  relief  from  such  influence  to  the  children  of  any  par- 
ticular district  that  we  come  to  consider  an  occasional 
change  of  teachers  a  mitigated  evil. 

Accurate  and  Prompt  Recitation.— 8.  Require  prompt 
and  accurate  recitation.  I  know  of  nothing  that  will 
abate  the  interest  of  a  class  sooner  than  dull  and  drag- 
ging recitations.  The  temptation  in  such  cases  is  very 
strong  for  the  teacher  to  help  the  class  by  the  "  draw- 
ing-out process,"  before  described.  This,  however,  only 
makes  the  matter  worse.  The  dull  recitation  calls  for 
the  teacher's  aid  ;  and  his  aid  reproduces  the  dull  reci- 
tation. The  only  way  is  to  stop  at  once,  and  refuse  to 
proceed  till  the  recitation  can  go  alone.  It  is  just  as 
easy  to  have  good  lessons  as  poor ;  and  the  teacher 
should  have  the  energy  to  insist  upon  them.  Mark  the 
countenances  of  a  class  as  they  go  to  their  seats  after  a 
good  recitation.  They  feel  that  they  have  done  some- 
thing, and  they  look  as  if  they  valued  the  teacher's  ap- 
probation and  their  own  so  highly  that  they  will  learn  the 
next  lesson  still  better. 

It  Saves  Time. — It  is,  moreover,  a  great  saving  of 
time  to  have  the  lessons  promptly  recited.  This  saving 
will  afford  the  opportunity  to  introduce  those  additional 
illustrations  I  have  before  suggested,  in  order  to  excite  a 
still  deeper  interest.  It  may  sometimes,  though  not  al- 
ways, be  well  to  make  a  prompt  and  perfect  recitation  the 
condition  of  introducing  the  additional  matter. 

Simultaneous  Recitation. — 9.  Rely  not  too  mueh  upon 
simultaneous  recitation.  This  has  become  quite  too  fash- 
ionable of  late.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  large  schools 


106  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

established  some  years  since,  known  as  Lancasterian 
schools,  and  perhaps  was  well  enough  adapted  to  schools 
kept  upon  that  plan  in  large  cities.  But  when  this  mode 
of  reciting  is  adopted  in  our  district  and  country  schools, 
where  the  circumstances  of  large  numbers  and  extreme 
backwardness  are  wanting,  it  is  entirely  uncalled  for,  and, 
like  other  city  fashions  transferred  to  the  country,  is 
really  out  of  place, 

Its  Evils. — Seriously,  I  look  upon  this  as  one  of  the 
prominent  faults  in  many  of  our  schools.  It  destroys  all 
independence  in  the  pupil  by  taking  away  his  individu- 
ality. He  moves  with  the  phalanx.  Learning  to  rely  on 
others,  he  becomes  superficial  in  his  lessons.  He  is 
tempted  to  indolence  by  a  knowledge  that  his  deficien- 
cies will  not  stand  out  by  themselves  ;  and  he  comforts 
himself  after  a  miserable  recitation  with  the  consoling  re- 
flection that  he  has  been  able  to  conceal  his  want  of 
thoroughness  from  his  teacher. 

Sometimes  Allowable. — It  may  sometimes  be  useful. 
A  few  questions  thus  answered  may  serve  to  give  animation 
to  a  class  when  their  interest  begins  to  flag  ;  but  that  which 
may  serve  as  a  stimulant  must  not  be  relied  on  for  nutri- 
tion. As  an  example  of  its  usefulness,  I  have  known  a 
rapid  reader  tamed  into  due  moderation  by  being  put  in 
companionship  with  others  of  slower  speech,  just  as  we 
tame  a  friskful  colt  by  harnessing  him  into  a  team  of 
grave  old  horses.  But  aside  from  some  such  definite 
purpose,  I  have  seen  no  good  come  of  this  innovation.  I 
am  satisfied  its  prevalence  is  an  evil,  and  worthy  of  the 
careful  consideration  of  teachers. 

The  Purpose. — By  the  foregoing  means  and  others 
which  will  suggest  fhems"elves  tc  the  thoughtful  teacher's 
mind,  he  can  arouse  the  interest  of  his  classes  so 


CONDUCTING  RECITATIONS.  107 

that  study  will  be  more  attractive  than  play.  For  this 
object  every  teacher  should  labor.  It  is,  of  course,  im- 
possible to  give  specific  rules  to  meet  every  case  ;  it  is 
not  desirable  to  do  it.  The  teacher,  put  upon  the  track, 
will  easily  devise  his  own  expedients  ;  and  his  own,  be  it 
remembered,  will  usually  be  found  the  best  for  him. 

The  Teacher  Makes  His  Mark  at  Recitation. — As 
a  motive  for  every  teacher  to  study  carefully  the  art  of 
teaching  well  at  the  recitation,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  then  and  there  he  comes  before  his  pupils  in  a 
peculiar  and  prominent  manner;  it  is  there  his  mind 
comes  specially  in  contact  with  theirs,  and  there  that  he 
lays  in  them,  for  good  or  for  evil,  the  foundations  of  their 
mental  habits.  It  is  at  the  recitation,  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, that  he  makes  his  mark  upon  their  minds  ;  and  as 
the  seal  upon  the  wax,  so  his  ment'al  character  upon 
theirs  leaves  its  impress  behind  ! 


108  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

EXCITING   INTEREST  IN  STUDY. 

A  Great  Question. — It  is  ever  an  interesting  question 
to  the  teacher,  and  one  which  he  should  consider  with 
great  care  "  How  can  I  excite  an  interest  among  my 
pupils  in  their  studies  ?"  The  intelligent  teacher  feels 
that  this  is  the  great  question  ;  for  he  foresees  that,  if 
he  fails  here,  his  difficulty  in  governing  his  school  will 
be  very  much  increased.  He  therefore  turns  his  at- 
tention with  deep  solicitude  to  the  motives  he  may  pre- 
sent, and  the  methods  he  may  employ  to  awaken  and 
keep  alive  the  interest  of  the  school. 

The  Interest  in  Study  an  Abiding  One. — If  he  has 
reflected  at  all  upon  the  subject,  he  has  already  arrived 
at  the  conviction  that  it  is  necessary,  for  the  good  of  all 
concerned,  that  the  interest  awakened  should  be  an 
abiding  one  ;  that  it  should  not  only  not  abate  during 
the  term  of  school,  but  continue,  nay,  grow  stronger 
and  stronger — even  after  school  days  have  passed  away. 

A  Common  Mistake. — There  is  probably  no  greater 
mistake  in  education,  than  that  of  raising  in  school  an 
artificial  excitement,  which  may  aid,  perhaps,  in  secur- 
ing better  recitations,  but  which  will  do  nothing  toward 
putting  the  mind  into  such  a  state  that  it  will  press  on 
in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  ever  after  the  living  teacher 
has  closed  his  labors. 

The  higher  principles  of  our  nature  being  aroused 
with  difficulty,  are  too  apt  to  be  neglected  by  the 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  109 

teacher,  and  thus  they  remain  in  their  original  feeble- 
ness ;  while  he  contents  himself  with  appealing  to  our 
lower  characteristics, — thus  doing  a  lasting  injury  by 
unduly  cultivating  and  strengthening  them  at  the 
same  time  that  he  awakens  after  all  but  a  temporary 
interest. 

Emulation. — In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  the  difficulty  of  judging  aright  upon  it,  I  shall 
make  no  apology  for  devoting  a  few  pages  to  the  con- 
sideration of 

SECTION   I.      INCENTIVES   TO   STUDY— EMULATION. 

The  teacher  will  find  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  the 
mind  of  every  child,  the  principle  of  EMULATION.  It  is 
a  question  very  much  debated  of  late,  What  shall  he  do 
with  it  ?  Much  has  been  said  and  written  on  this  ques- 
tion, and  the  ablest  minds,  both  of  past  ages  and  the 
present,  have  given  us  their  conclusions  respecting  it ; 
and  it  often  increases  the  perplexity  of  the  young  teacher 
to  find  the  widest  difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject 
among  men  upon  whom  in  other  things  he  would  confid- 
ingly rely  for  guidance.  Why,  asks  he,  why  is  this  ?  Is 
there  no  such  thing  as  truth  in  this  matter?  or  have  these 
men  misunderstood  each  other?  When  they  have  writ- 
ten with  so  much  ability  and  so  much  earnestness, — some 
zealously  recommending  emulation  as  a  safe  and  desira- 
ble principle  to  be  encouraged  in  the  young,  and  others 
as  warmly  denouncing  it  as  altogether  unworthy  and  im- 
proper,— have  they  been  thinking  of  the  same  tiling? 
Thus  perplexed  with  conflicting  opinions,  he  is  thrown 
back  upon  his  own  reflection  for  a  decision  ;  or,  what  is 
more  common,  he  endeavors  to  find  the  truth  by  experi- 
menting upon  his  pupils.  He  tries  one  course  for  one 
term,  and  a  different  one  the  next ;  repeats  both  during 


110  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

the  third,  and  still  finds  himself  unsettled  as  he  com- 
mences the  fourth.  Meantime  some  of  his  experiments 
have  wrought  out  a  lasting  injury  upon  the  minds  of  his 
pupils. 

Evil  Consequences  of  Experimenting.  —  If  every 
teacher  must  settle  every  doubt  by  new  experiments 
upon  his  classes,  the  progress  that  is  made  in  the  science 
and  art  of  teaching  must  be  at  the  untold  expense  of 
each  new  set  of  children — just  as  if  the  young  doctor 
could  take  nothing  as  settled  by  the  experience  of  his 
predecessors,  but  must  try  over  again  for  himself  the 
effect  of  all  the  various  medical  agents,  in  order  to  decide 
whether  arsenic  does  corrode  the  stomach  and  produce 
death, — whether  cantharides  can  be  best  applied  inwardly 
or  outwardly, — whether  mercury  is  most  salutary  when 
administered  in  ounces  or  grains,  or  whether  repletion  or 
abstinence  is  preferable  in  a  fever !  When  such  is  the 
course  of  a  young  practitioner  in  a  community,  who  does 
not  confidently  expect  the  churchyard  soon  to  become 
the  most  populous  district,  and  the  sexton  to  be  the 
most  thrifty  personage  in  the  village,  unless  indeed  he 
too  should  become  the  subject  of  experiment. 

Two  Senses. — But  is  there  not  a  good  sense  and  a  bad 
sense  associated  with  the  term  Emulation ; — and  have 
not  these  eager  disputants  fallen  into  the  same  error  in 
this  matter  that  the  two  knights  committed,  when  they 
immolated  each  other  in  a  contest  about  the  question 
whether  a  shield  was  gold  or  silver,  when  each  had 
seen  but  one  side  of  it  ?  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
this  is  the  case, — and  that  those  who  wax  so  warm  in 
this  contest  would  do  well  to  give  us  at  the  outset  a 
careful  definition  of  the  term  EMULATION  as  they  in- 
tend to  use  it.  This  would  perhaps  save  themselves 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  Ill 

a  great  deal  of  toil,  and  their  readers  a  great  deal  of 
perplexity. 

The  Good  Sense. — Now  it  seems  to  me  the  truth  on 
this  question  lies  within  a  nutshell. 

i.  If  emulation  means  a  desire  for  improvement,  prog- 
ress, growth,  an  ardent  wish  to  rise  above  one's  present 
condition  or  attainments, — or  even  an  aspiration  to  at- 
tain to  eminence  in  the  school  or  in  the  world,  it  is  a 
laudable  motive.  This  is  self -emulation.  It  presses  the 
individual  on  to  surpass  himself.  It  compares  his 
present  condition  with  what  he  would  be — with  what 
he  ought  to  be  ;  and  "  forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  which  are  before, 
he  presses  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize."  An  ardor 
kindled  by  the  praiseworthy  examples  of  others,  inciting 
to  imitate  them,  or  to  equal,  or  even  excel  them,  with- 
out the  desire  of  depressing  them,"  '  is  the  sense  in 
which  the  Apostle  uses  the  term  (Romans  xi.  14)  when 
he  says:  "  If  by  any  means  I  may  provoke  to  emulation 
them  which  are  my  flesh,  and  might  save  some  of  them." 
If  this  be  the  meaning  of  emulation,  it  is  every  way 
a  worthy  principle  to  be  appealed  to  in  school.  This 
principle  exists  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  the  mind 
of  every  child,  and  may  very  safely  be  strengthened  by 
being  called  by  the  teacher  into  lively  exercise  ;  pro- 
vided, always,  that  the  eminence  is  sought  from  a  desire 
to  be  useful,  and  not  from  a  desire  of  self-glorification. 

The  Bad  Sense. — 2.  But  if  emulation,  on  the  other 
hand,  means  a  desire  of  surpassing otJiers  for  the  sake 
of  surpassing  them;  if  it  be  a  disposition  that  will 
cause  an  individual  to  be  as  well  satisfied  with  the 
highest  place,  whether  he  has  risen  above  his  fellows  by 

i  Dr.  Webster. 


112  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

his  intrinsic  well-doing,  or  they  have  fallen  below  him 
by  their  neglect;  if  it  puts  him  in  such  a  relation  to 
others  that  their  failures  will  be  as  gratifying  to  him  as 
his  own  success ;  if  it  be  a  principle  that  prompts  the 
secret  wish  in  the  child  that  others  may  miss  their 
lessons,  in  order  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to  gain  ap- 
plause by  a  contrast  with  their  abasement, — then,  with- 
out doubt,  it  is  an  unworthy  and  unholy  principle,  and 
should  never  be  encouraged  or  appealed  to  by  the 
teacher.  It  has  no  similitude  to  that  spirit  which 
prompts  a  man  to  "  love  his  neighbor  as  himself."  It 
has  none  of  that  generosity  which  rejoices  in  the  success 
of  others.  Carried  out  in  after  life,  it  becomes  ambition, 
such  as  fired  the  breast  of  a  Napoleon,  who  sought  a 
throne  for  himself,  though  he  waded  through  the  blood 
of  millions  to  obtain  it. 

It  is  to  this  principle  that  the  Apostle,  before  quoted, 
alludes,  when  he  classes  emulation  with  the  "  works  of  the 
flesh,"  which  are  these  :  "  Adultery,  fornication,  unclean- 
ness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance, 
EMULATION,  wrath,  strife,  seditions,  etc. — of  the  which 
things,  I  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  told  you  in  times  past, 
that  they  which  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God."  It  is  of  this  principle  that  the  commen- 
tator, Scott,  remarks  :  "  This  thirst  for  human  applause 
has  caused  more  horrible  violations  of  the  law  of  love, 
and  done  more  to  desolate  the  earth,  than  even  the  gross- 
est sensuality  ever  did." 

The  Two  Views  of  Emulation  Compared. — Thus 
emulation  is  a  term  which  indicates  a  very  good  or  a  very 
bad  thing,  according  to  the  definition  we  give  it.  In  one 
view  of  it,  the  warmest  aspirings  to  rise  are  consistent 
with  a  generous  wish  that  others  may  rise  also.  It  is  even 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  118 

compatible  with  a  heartfelt  satisfaction  in  its  possessor, 
at  the  progress  of  others,  though  they  should  outstrip 
him  in  his  upward  course.  It  is  the  spirit  which  actuates 
all  true  Christians  as  they  wend  their  way  heavenward, 
rejoicing  the  more  as  they  find  the  way  is  thronged  with 
those  who  hope  to  gain  an  immortal  crown. 

In  the  other  view  of  it,  we  see  men  actuated  by  selfish- 
ness mingled  with  pride,  inquiring,  in  the  spirit  of  those 
mentioned  in  Scripture :  "  Who  among  us  shall  be  the 
greatest?"  We  everywhere  see  men  violating  these 
sacred  injunctions  of  Divine  wisdom  :  "  Let  no  man  seek 
his  own,  but  every  man  another's  wealth."  •'  Let  nothing 
be  done  through  strife  or  vain-glory  ;  but  in  lowliness  of 
mind,  let  each  esteem  other  better  than  themselves." — 
"  In  honor  preferring  one  another  " 

The  Teacher's  Duty. — If  such  be  the  true  picture  of 
emulation,  in  both  the  good  and  the  bad  sense,  certainly 
teachers  cannot  hesitate  a  moment  as  to  their  duty.  They 
may  appeal  to  the  principle  first  described — cultivate  and 
strengthen  it ;  and  in  so  doing,  they  may  be  sure  they 
are  doing  a  good  work.  But  unless  they  intend  to  vio- 
late the  teachings  of  common  sense,  and  the  higher 
teachings  of  Christianity,  I  know  not  how  they  can  appeal 
to  tJie  principle  of  emulation  as  defined  in  the  second  case. 

Objections. — But  it  may  be  urged  that  the  teacher 
will  find  emulation,  even  in  this  latter  sense,  existing  in 
human  nature  ;  that  he  cannot-  get  rid  of  it  if  he  will; 
that  it  will  be  one  of  the  most  active  principles  to  which 
he  can  resort  in  arousing  the  mind  to  exertion  ;  and, 
furthermore,  that  it  has  been  appealed  to  by  many  of 
the  most  eminent  teachers  time  out  of  mind. 

Answers. — To  this  it  is  replied  that  it  is  not  disputed 
that  children  are  selfish  ;  and  that  this  selfishness  may 


114  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

indeed  be  made  a  powerful  instrumentality  in  urging 
them  forward  to  the  attainment  of  a  temporary  end. 
But  does  the  existence  of  selfishness  prove  that  it  needs 
cultivation  in  the  human  character  ?  And  will  the  end, 
when  attained,  justify  the  means?  Is  the  end,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  if  attained  at  such  a  cost,  a  blessing  to 
be  desired  ?  Will  not  the  heart  suffer  more  than  the 
head  will  gain  ? 

Further  Objections. — ft  may  be  further  urged  that 
the  child  will  find  the  world  full  of  this  principle  when 
he  leaves  the  school ;  and  why,  it  is  asked,  should  he  at 
school  be  thrown  into  an  unnatural  position  ?  I  answer 
that  evil  is  not  to  be  overcome  by  making  evil  more 
prevalent  ;  and  though  there  may  be  too  much  of  self- 
seeking  in  the  world,  that  is  the  very  reason  why  the 
teacher  should  not  encourage  its  growth.  The  more 
true  Christianity  prevails  in  the  world,  the  less  there 
will  be  of  that  spirit  which  rejoices  at  another's  halting  ; 
hence  I  am  convinced  the  teacher  should  do  nothing  to 
make  that  spirit  more  prevalent. 

Emulation  Not  Essential  to  Success. — Nor  is  it  es- 
sential to  the  progress  of  the  pupil  even  temporarily, 
since  there  are  other  and  worthier  principles  which  can 
be  as  successfully  called  into  action.  If  we  look  care- 
fully at  the  expediency  of  thus  stimulating  the  mind> 
we  find  that  after  the  first  trial  of  strength,  many  be- 
come disheartened  and  fall  behind  in  despair.  It  will 
soon  be  obvious,  in  a  class  of  twenty  who  are  \.\\z  few 
that  will  be  likely  to  surpass  all  others  ;  and  therefore 
all  the  others,  as  a  matter  of  course,  fall  back  into  envy, 
perhaps  into  hopeless  indifference.  Who  has  not  seen 
this  in  a  class  in  spelling,  for  instance,  where  the  strife 
was  for  the  "head"  of  the  class,  but  where  all  but  two 


EXCITING  INTEREST   IN  STUDY.  115 

or  three  were  quite  as  well  satisfied  with  being  at  the 
"foot"?  It  does  not  then  accomplish  the  purpose  for 
which  it  is  employed  ;  and  since  those  who  are  aroused 
by  it  are  even  more  injured  than  those  who  are  indif- 
ferent, their  undesirable  qualities  being  thus  strength- 
ened, the  opinion  is  entertained  that  those  teachers  are 
the  most  wise  who  bend  their  ingenuity  to  find  some 
other  means  to  awaken  the  minds  of  the  children  under 
their  charge. 

The  Conclusion. — From  what  has  been  said,  then, 
Emulation  is  to  be  recognized  or  repudiated  among  the 
incentives  of  the  school-room,  according  to  the  signifi- 
cation we  assign  to  the  term. 

SECTION   II.  PRIZES. 

• 

Honest  Investigation. — It  has  for  a  long  time  been 
the  custom  of  teachers  to  offer  some  prize  as  an  incen- 
tive to  exertion  in  school  ;  a  prize  of  some  pecuniary 
value — a  hook,  or  a  medal.  In  some  places  beneficent 
individuals  have  bestowed  by  legacy  the  means  to  pur- 
chase annually  the  prizes  thus  to  be  used.  Every  young 
teacher  is  called  upon,  therefore,  to  inquire  whether  such 
an  incentive  is  a  proper  one  to  be  employed  in  the 
school-room.  If  there  is  any  good  to  be  expected  from 
such  an  incentive,  will  it  counterbalance  theevilsth.it 
spring  from  the  practice?  Will  the  good  of  the  whole 
school  be  promoted  by  such  a  measure, — and  will  this  be 
a  permanent  or  a  temporary  good  ?  These  are  questions 
which  press  for  an  honest  answer  ;  and  the  faithful  teacher 
should  not  shrink  from  a  careful  investigation  of  the 
whi  le  matter;  and  if  he  finds  good  reason  to  differ  from 
time-honored  authority,  he  should  abide  by  the  truth 
rather  than  by  prescriptive  usage. 


116  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Experience — Its  Result. — In  my  own  case,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  say,  my  mind  was  early  turned  to  this  point  I 
though,  I  confess,  with  a  strong  bias  in  favor  of  the  use 
of  prizes.  Pretty  thoroughly  for  a  series  of  years  did  I 
test  their  efficacy,  but  with  a  growing  conviction  that  the 
prize  was  not  the  proper  instrumentality  to  create  a 
healthy  interest  in  the  school.  This  conviction  acquired 
additional  strength  by  three  or  four  years'  trial  of  other 
incentives;  and  it  was  fully  confirmed  afterwards  by  a 
trial  made  for  the  purpose  of  testing  again  the  efficacy  of 
a  prize,  at  an  age  when  I  could  more  carefully  watch  the 
workings  of  the  human  mind,  and  better  appreciate  the 
benefits  or  evils  resulting  from  such  a  measure.  I  am 
now  free  to  say  that  I  am  satisfied  \hz\.  prizes  offered  to  a 
school  in  such  a  ivay  that  all  may  compete  for  t/icm,  and 
only  two  or  three  obtain  tticm,  will  always  be  productive  of 
evil  consequences,  far  overbalancing  any  temporary  or  partial 
good  that  may  arise  from  them,  and  therefore  they  ougiit  not 
to  be  used  as  incitements  in  our  schools.1 

Reasons  Assigned. — Having  expressed  an  opinion  so 
decidedly  upon  a  measure  which  claims  among  its  friends 
and  advocates  some  of  the  best  minds  in  the  country,  I 
shall  be  expected  to  assign  some  reasons  for  the  faith  I 
entertain.  From  this  I  shall  not  shrink.  I  proceed, 
therefore,  to  express  such  objections  to  the  use  of  prizes 
as  have  been  suggested  to  my  mind  by  my  own  experi- 
ence, and  confirmed  by  the  experience  and  observation  of 
others  in  whom  I  have  great  confidence. 

i  It  may  be  well  to  remind  the  reader  that  I  have  used  the  term  Prizes  here 
in  contradistinction  from  a  system  of  Rewards,  by  which  the  teacher  proposes 
to  give  some  token  of  his  regard  to  every  one  who  does  well,— and  the  more 
brilliant  success  of  a  few  does  not  necessarily  preclude  others  from  participat- 
ing in  the  favor  according  to  their  merit.  Of  such  a  system  of  Rewards  I  shall 
have  something  to  say  presently. 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  117 

Prize  Becomes  the  Leading  Motive. — I.  The  offer  of 
a  prize  gives  undue  prominence  to  a  comparatively  unworthy 
object.  It  practically  teaches  the  child  to  undervalue  the 
higher  reward  of  a  good  conscience,  and  a  love  of  learn- 
ing for  its  own  sake.  The  dazzling  medal  is  placed  in 
the  foreground  of  his  field  of  vision  ;  and  it  is  very  likely 
to  eclipse  those  less  showy  but  more  abiding  rewards 
found  in  a  sense  of  duty  and  a  desire  to  be  qualified  for 
usefulness.  In  studying  his  lesson  he  thinks  of  the  prize. 
He  studies  that  he  may  merely  recite  well ;  for  it  is  a 
good  recitation  that  wins  the  prize.  He  thinks  not  of 
duty,  or  of  future  usefulness  ;  the  prize  outshines  all 
other  objects. 

Engenders  Rivalry. — II.  The  pursuit  of  a  prize  en- 
genders a  spirit  of  rivalry  among  the  pupils.  Rivalry  in 
pursuit  of  an  object  which  only  one  can  attain,  and  which 
all  others  must  lose,  must  end  in  exaltation  on  the  part 
of  the  winner,  and  disappointment  and  envy  on  the 
part  of  the  losers.  It  may  be  said,  this  ought  not  to  be 
so  ;  but  seldom  can  it  be  said,  that  it  is  not  so.  Such  is 
human  nature,  and  such  it  ever  will  be.  Unpleasant 
feelings — sometimes  concealed,  to  be  sure — but  gener- 
ally expressed  in  unequivocal  terms — grow  out  of  the 
award  of  almost  every  school-prize,  and  sometimes  con- 
tinue to  exert  their  baleful  influence  through  life.  Now 
as  long  as  human  nature  brings  forth  unlovely  traits  al- 
most spontaneously,  such  direct  efforts  to  cultivate  them 
surely  are  not  called  for.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom,  then, 
to  omit  such  culture  and  avoid  such  results,  especially 
when  safer  means  are  so  accessible. 

The  Few  Only  are  Stimulated.— III.  The  Jicpc  of 
gaining  the  prize  stimulates  only  tlic  fe\<.\  while  the  many 
become  indifferent.  This  is  admitted  to  be  true  even  by 


118  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

the  advocates  of  the  prize  system.  Let  a  prize  be  offered 
in  any  class  as  a  reward  for  the  best  scholarship,  and  in 
a  very  few  days  it  becomes  perfectly  obvious  to  all  who 
the  two  or  three  are  that  will  be  likely  to  outstrip  all  the 
others.  These  two  or  three  will  be  stimulated  to  exer- 
tion ;  but  the  strife  is  left  entirely  to  them.  All  others, 
despairing  of  success,  resolve  at  once  to  "  let  their  mod- 
eration be  known  to  all  men  ;"  and  since  the  prize  has 
been  made  so  prominent  an  object,  they  cannot  be  ex- 
pected now  to  look  at  anything  above  and  beyond  it. 
Feeling  that  they  are  not  likely  to  participate  in  the 
honors  of  the  class,  they  have  but  little  disposition  to 
share  in  its  to.ils. 

Exceptions  in  Spite  of  the  System. — This,  to  be 
sure,  is  not  always  so.  There  are  some  who,  ceasing  to 
strive  for  the  prize,  toil  for  the  more  substantial  blessing, 
— a  good  education, — and  in  the  end  come  out  the  best 
scholars.  This  is  the  way,  indeed,  most  of  our  strong 
men  are  made ;  for  it  has  long  been  remarked  that  the 
prize  scholars  MI  our  schools,  and  even  in  our  colleges, 
do  not  usually  become  the  most  distinguished  men. 
On  the  other  hand,  many  of  them  are  never  heard  of 
after  receiving  their  honors.  But,  though  some  of  the 
slower  scholars  do  thus  hit  upon  the  true  path  to  emi- 
nence, it  is  not  to  be  set  to  the  credit  of  the  system  ; 
they  rise  in  spite  of  the  system  rather  than  by  virtue  of 
it  ;  while  the  ultimate  failure  of  the  prize  scholars  is 
usually  directly  attributable  to  the  defect  of  the  system ; 
for  having  been  unduly  stimulated  to  study  solely  with 
reference  to  recitation,  and  not  with  regard  to  future 
usefulness  their  memories  have  been  developed  out  of 
all  proportion  to  the  other  faculties  of  their  minds  ;  and 
though  they  may  have  been  very  good  reciters,  they 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  119 

have  no  power  to  become  independent  thinkers.  Under 
different  training  they  might  have  become  strongmen. 

Why  Prize  Scholars  Fail. — But  to  look  no  further 
than  the  school,  the  remark  holds  true  in  general  that 
prizes  stimulate  the  few,  and  the  many  become  indif- 
ferent not  only  to  prizes,  but  to  other  and  better 
motives.  That  system  of  incentives  only  can  be  ap- 
proved which  reaches  and  influences  successfully  all  the 
mind  subjected  to  its  operation. 

The  Teacher  Should  Reach  All. — Nor  is  this  an  un- 
important consideration.  It  is  not  sufficient  praise  for 
a  teacher  that  he  has  a.  few  good  scholars  in  his  school. 
Almost  any  teacher  can  call  out  the  talent  of  the  active 
scholars  and  make  them  brilliant  reciters.  The  highest 
merit,  however,  lies  in  reaching  all  the  pupils,  the  dull 
as  well  as  the  active,  and  in  making  the  most  of  them, 
or  rather  in  leading  them  to  make  the  most  of  them- 
selves It  should  be  remembered  of  every  child  that 
the  present  is  his  only  opportunity  of  being  a  child,  and 
ot  receiving  the  training  appropriate  to  childhood  ;  and 
that  teacher  who  rests  satisfied  with  a  system  that  does 
not  reach  the  many  while  he  amuses  himself  and  his 
visitors  with  the  precocity  of  a  few  of  his  most  active 
scholars,  is  recreant  to  his  responsible  trust. 

Difficulty  in  Awarding  the  Prize. — IV.  There  is  much 
difficulty  in  awarding  the  prize  so  as  to  do  strict  justice  to 
all  So  many  things  are  lo  be  taken  into  the  account  in 
order  to  determine  the  excellence  of  a  performance  com- 
pared with  others,  that  some  particulars  are  very  likely  to 
be  overlooked.  Those  who  are  called  to  judge  of  the  re- 
sults often  disagree  among  themselves.  The  following 
anecdote  will  illustrate  this  :  Three  literary  gentlemen 
were  appointed  tc  select  the  best  from  several  composi- 


120  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

tions,  presented  by  a  class,  who  had  written  them  in 
competition  for  a  gold  medal.  Each  of  the  gentlemen 
carefully  read  the  whole  number  in  private,  and  con- 
scientiously selected  the  best  according  to  his  judgment. 
When  they  came  together  to  compare  results,  it  was  found 
that  each  man  had  selected  the  best,  but  that  no  two  had 
selected  the  same  !  They  carefully  read  and  compared 
the  three,  and  still  each  insisted  that  his  original  choice 
was  the  best.  After  much  debate  and  considerable  delay, 
one  of  the  parties  being  obliged  to  go  to  his  business, 
relieved  himself  from  a  painful  detention,  and  his  friends 
from  a  perplexing  doubt,  by  saying  he  believed  the  com- 
position he  had  selected  was  the  best,  but  as  he  could  not 
stop  to  claim  its  rights,  he  would  yield  them  in  favor  of 
the  second  best  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  associates.  This 
ended  the  dispute,  and  the  action  in  favor  of  the  success- 
ful one  was  declared  to  be  unanimous  ! 

This  only  proves  how  difficult  it  is  to  decide ;  and 
in  the  case  just  cited,  it  might  well  be  asked, 
why  should  one  of  these  competitors  be  held  up 
to  the  multitude  to  be  applauded  and  admired,  and  the 
others  sent  back  to  their  classes  covered  with  the  shame 
of  a  failure  ?  What  principle  of  justice  sanctioned  this 
decision  ? 

The  Parties  Dissatisfied. — Nor  is  this  a  solitary  in- 
stance. It  rarely  happens  that  the  case  is  perfectly  clear. 
There  is  usually  much  perplexity  about  it ;  and  hence  one 
reason  why  the  decision  seldom  satisfies  the  friends  of  the 
parties  either  in  the  school  or  at  home.  But  other  con- 
siderations besides  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  performance 
are  to  be  taken  into  account  in  awarding  a  prize ;  as, 

Various  External  Aids:  Exemplified.  — i.  A  differ 
ence  in  tlic  external  facilities  which  the  competitors  enjoy 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IX  STUDY.  121 

for  getting  the  lessons.  One  pupil  may  be  the  son  of  pov- 
erty, and  be  compelled  to  labor  during  all  the  hours  out 
of  school ;  another  may  be  in  easy  circumstances,  and 
have  nothing  to  prevent  giving  undivided  attention  to 
study  during  the  whole  day  One  may  be  the  child  of 
parents  who  have  no  power  to  render  assistance  by  way 
of  explaining  a  difficult  point ;  while  the  other  may  have 
all  his  doubts  removed  at  once  by  parental  aid.  One 
may  never  even  be  encouraged  by  a  kind  word  at  home; 
another  is  constantly  urged  to  effort,  and  perhaps  not 
allowed  to  be  idle  One  may  have  access  to  no  books 
but  his  school  manuals  ;  the  other  may  have  at  his  com- 
mand a  large  library.  This  difference  in  circumstances, 
should  be  taken  into  the  account ;  but  it  never  can  be 
fully  understood  by  those  who  are  called  to  decide. 

Improper  Means  Used.  —  2.  The  improper  means 
wJiicli  may  have  been  employed  to  secure  the  prize. 
Ambition,  when  aroused,  is  not  always  scrupulous  of  its 
means  One  competitor  may  be  high-minded  ;  may 
enter  the  arena  determined  to  succeed  by  an  honorable 
strife  :  may  resolve  to  succeed  by  his  own  exertions,  or 
to  fail  rather  than  bring  in  anything  which  is  not  the 
fruit  ot  his  own  study.  Another,  regardless  of  honor  or 
principle,  resolves  only  to  succeed,  whatever  it  may  cost  ; 
hesitates  not  to  copy  from  others  if  possible,  or  to  apply 
to  a  brother  in  college  or  some  friend  in  the  high 
school  to  furnish  the  difficult  solution,  prepared  to 
order. 

An  "Authoress." — One  young  lady  spends  days  and 
nights  in  arranging  the  glowing  thoughts  for  her  com- 
position, determined  if  industry,  study,  good  taste,  and 
a  careful  application  of  the  rules  of  rhetoric  can  effect 
anything  that  her  production  shall  be  worthy  of  a 


1','J  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

prize.  Another,  in  no  way  distinguished  for  scholar- 
ship, industry  or  honor,  writes  a  careless  letter  to 
a  married  sister  in  a  distant  city  invoking  her  aid.  In 
due  time  the  mail  brings  an  elegant  essay  It  is  copied 
with  sufficient  accuracy  to  be  read,  and  at  the  examina- 
tion takes  the  prize  !  The  fair  '  authoress  "  stands  forth 
and  is  flattered  before  the  multitude — is  perhaps  made 
to  believe  that  she  is  worthy  of  praise  ;  she  grasps  the 
golden  bauble,  and,  covered  with  the  blushes  of  mod- 
esty, receives  the  congratulations  and  caresses  of  friends, 
and  is  afterwards  reputed  a  good  scholar.  Her  competi 
tor?  meantime  become  convinced  that  effort  cannot  rival 
genius  ;  they  are  mortified  to  think  they  have  presumed 
to  enter  the  arena  with  native  talent,  and  become  dis- 
heartened as  to  any  future  attempt. 

Abuses. — Now,  where  is  the  justice  in  all  this  proceed- 
ing ?  Yet  this  is  not  fiction;  it  is  history!  If  such 
abuses — abuses  that  might  well  make  an  angel  weep, 
revealing,  as  they  do,  that  woman's  heart  can  be  thus 
sold  to  deception — are  the  accompaniments  of  a  prize 
system,  may  we  not  well  doubt  the  utility  of  that  sys- 
tem? 

System  Unsafe. — Yet  who  can  know  either  the  dif- 
ferent facilities  enjoyed  by  the  competitors,  or  the  want 
of  principle  in  some  of  them  ?  Who  can  enter  tht 
secret  chambers  of  the  mind  or  the  heart,  and  estimate 
with  any  accuracy  the  just  amount  of  merit  in  any 
action  ?  This  is  God's  prerogative  ;  while  "  man  looketh 
only  on  the  outward  appearance."  My  inference  then 
is  :  A  system  fan  hardly  be  safe  which  is  so  uncertain. 

Success  Overrated. — V.  The  prize  rewards  SUCCESS, 
not  KFFORT;  TALENT,  not  WORTH.  Everyone  knows 
that,  in  estimating  the  value  and  virtue  of  an  action,  the 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  1 .':) 

motive  which  prompted  it  and  the  effort  it  necessarily 
cost  should  be  taken  into  the  account.  Every  one 
knows  too  that  success  in  study  is  by  no  means  a  cri- 
terion by  which  to  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  scholar. 
Some  learn  their  lessons  with  great  facility  and  with  but 
little  effort  ;  others  study  long  and  patiently  without 
any  brilliant  results.  One  competitor  for  a  pri/e  may 
bring  results  which  have  cost  him  midnight  toil  and  the 
most  unremitting  perseverance;  another  with  brighter 
parts,  and  with  but  little  labor,  is  able  to  surpass  him, 
and  takes  the  medal.  Now  the  former  deserves  in  a  far 
higher  degree  the  encouragement  of  the  reward  ;  yet  it 
is  given  to  him  who  has  the  talent,  but  who  lacks  the 
industry.  The  rule  of  Scripture  which  announces  that 
'to  whom  much  is  given,  of  him  sliall  much  be  required," 
is  violated,  and  he  is  rewarded  for  producing  but  little 
more  than  the  one  to  whom  little  is  given. 

But  God  Rewards — How. — It  is  often  urged,  by  those 
who  advocate  a  system  of  prizes  and  rewards,  that  God 
rewards  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  at  least  justifiable  that  we 
should  imitate  His  example.  I  admit  that  God,  in  His 
government,  does  reward;  bat  He  rewards  effort  rather 
than  success  ;  He  "  looketh  upon  the  heart  "  as  man  can- 
not do,  and  rewards  worth,  not  talent.  We  might,  indeed, 
imitate  His  example,  if  we  had  less  frailty,  and  were  not 
so  liable  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the  outward  appearance. 
God,  indeed,  rewards  men  ;  but  He  estimates  the  secret 
intention,  seeing  the  inward  springs  of  thought  before 
they  find  expression  in  words  or  actions.  He  regards  the 
motive,  and  holds  out  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
humblest  child  of  earth,  who  does  the  best  he  can,  as 
rich  a  crown  of  glory  as  He  does  for  those  whose  out- 
ward circumstances,  in  the  eyes  of  mortals,  art  more  aus- 


124  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

picious.  When  man  can  as  wisely  and  as  righteously  be- 
stow his  prizes  and  rewards,  there  will  be  far  less  objection 
to  their  use. 

Studying  for  a  Prize  Only  —VI.  The  pupil  who  studies 
for  a  prize  as  his  chief  motive  will  seldom  continue  to  study 
-ic/ifti  tJie  prize  is  withdrawn.  This  is  so  obvious  as 
scarcely  to  need  illustration.  If  it  be  necessary  to  add 
anything  to  the  mere  statement  of  the  fact,  an  appeal 
to  almost  universal  experience  would  confirm  it.  A 
teacher  who  has  depended  upon  prizes  in  a  school,  finds 
it  very  difficult  to  awaken  an  interest  there  when  he 
withdraws  the  prize.  Hence  many  have,  on  trying 
the  experiment  of  abandoning  the  prize  system,  become 
discouraged,  and  have  returned  again  to  the  use  of 
prizes,  believing  them  essential  to  their  success.  Thus 
the  very  argument  which  shows  most  clearly  their  per- 
nicious tendency  is  made  a  reason  for  continuing  chem 
As  before  hinted,  the  prize  scholars  in  our  academies 
and  even  our  colleges,  are  seldom  distinguished  men  in 
after-life — a  fact  that  speaks  conclusively  on  this  point; 
but  it  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  spend  words  to  prove 
a  truth  almost  self-evident. 

"He  is  Studying  for  the  Prize."— VII.  By  the  prize 
system,  tJic  influence  of  the  good  example  of  some  of  the  best 
pupils  is  lost  upon  the  school.  All  who  have  taught  know 
how  important  this  influence  is  to  the  success  of  the 
school.  It  tells  with  resistless  power  upon  the  other 
scholars,  wherever  it  exists,  unless  some  unworthy  motive 
can  be  assigned  for  it,  But,  under  the  prize  system,  let 
a  teacher  appeal  to  the  example  of  his  best  scholars,  and 
the  reply  is,  "Oh,  yes,  he  behaves  well;  or  he  studies 
diligently,  but  he  is  trying  to  get  the  prize"  With  this 
understanding,  his  example  becomes  powerless,  unless, 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN   STUDY.  125 

indeed,  there  may  be  a  disposition  to  be  unlike  him  in 
everything.  It  is  believed  this  is  a  consideration  of  con- 
siderable importance. 

System  of  Rewards  not  Necessary. — I  have  thus  as- 
signed, at  some  length,  the  reasons  why  I  should  dis- 
countenance, among  the  incentives  of  the  school,  the 
use  of  Prizes.  As  to  the  use  of  "Rfwtrds,"  when  they 
are  made  so  numerous  that  every  one  who  is  really  de- 
serving may  receive  one, — and  when  the  basis  of  their 
distribution  is  not  talent,  not  success  merely,  but  good 
intention  and  praiseworthy  effort, — I  have  much  less  to 
say.  As  expressions  of  the  teacher's  interest  in  the 
children,  and  of  his  approval  "of  their  well-doing  they 
may  serve  a  good  end.  Perhaps  there  is  no  very  strong 
objection  to  them  in  principle;  though  if  the  teacher 
subjects  himself  to  the  necessary  outlay  in  the  purchase 
of  them,  it  may  become  burdensome  to  him.  I  may 
add,  however,  that  I  do  not  think  rewards  are  necessary 
to  the  teacher  s  success.  I  should  prefer  to  do  without 
them.  It  is  possible  to  produce  such  a  feeling  in  the 
schoolroom  that  the  approving  conscience  of  the  child, 
and  the  commendatory  smile  of  the  teacher,  shall  be  the 
richest  of  all  rewards.  These  come  without  money  and 
without  price,  and  may  always  be  freely  and  safely 
bestowed,  wherever  there  is  a  good  intention  exhibited 
by  the  child.  That  is  the  most  healthy  state  of  things 
where  these  are  most  prized.  As  children  whose  parents 
begin  early  to  hire  them  to  do  their  duty  are  seldom 
ready  afterwards  to  render  their  cheerful  service  as  an  act 
of  filial  obligation  whenever  the  pay  is  withheld,  so 
children  at  school,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  expect 
a  reward,  seldom  pursue  their  studies  as  cheerfully  when 
that  expectation  is  cut  off. 


U'6  THEORY  AND   PRAC'TICK  OF  TEACHING. 

SECTION    III.       PROPER   INCENTIVES. 

Safe  Incentives. — In  what  has  already  been  said,  it 
has  been  more  than  hinted  that  there  are  higher  attributes 
than  emulation,  which  the  teacher  should  address,  and 
which,  if  he  is  successful  in  calling  them  into  exercise, 
will  be  quite  sufficient  to  en  ure  the  proper  application 
of  his  pupils  to  their  studies.  They  have  the  merit, 
moreover,  of  being  safe.  They  do  not  unduly  stimulate 
the  intellectual  at  the  expense  of  the  moral  faculties. 
Their  very  exercise  constitutes  a  healthy  growth  of  the 
moral  nature.  Some  of  these  I  may  briefly  allude  to  : 

Approbation   of  Friends. — I.     A   DESIRE   TO   GAIN 

THE  APPROBATION  OF  THEIR  PARENTS  AND  TEACHER. 
The  love  of  approbation  is  as  universal  in  the  human  mind 
as  emulation.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  can  be  found 
who  does  not  possess  it.  Within  proper  limits,  it  is  a 
desirable  trait  ia  human  character.  It  is,  to  be  sure, 
one  of  the  selfish  propensities  ;  but,  among  them  all,  it 
is  the  most  innocent.  Carried  to  an  extreme  it  would 
lead  its  possessor  to  crave  the  good  opinion  of  the  bad 
as  well  as  of  the  good,  and  to  become  an  obsequious 
seeker  after  popularity.  This,  of  course,  is  to  be  depre- 
cated. But  there  can  be  no  danger  of  this  extreme  as 
long  as  the  approbation  of  parents  and  teachers  is  the 
object  aimed  at.  It  implies  in  the  child  a  respect  for 
the  opinions,  and  a  confidence  in  the  justice,  of  his 
parents  and  teachers :  and  hence  it  implies  in  him  a 
eenerous  desire  to  please  as  a  condition  of  being  com- 
mended by  them. 

'  Twice  Blest." — In  this-  sense,  the  love  of  approba- 
tion may  be  appealed  to  by  the  teacher.  He  perhaps 
need  not  frequently  use  the  language  of  praise.  It  will 
generally  be  sufficient  if  the  smile  of  approval  beams 


KXriTIXC,   INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  l',>7 

forth  in  his  countenance.  If  he  is  judicious  as  well  as 
just,  this  boon  soon  becomes  a  precious  one  to  the  child. 
It  is  a  reward,  moreover,  which 

"  is  twice  blest  : 
It  blesscth  him  who  gives  and  him  who  takes." 

II.  A  Desire  of  Advancement. — This  is  emulation 
in  its  good  sense  It  leads  the  child  as  before  remarked, 
to  compare  his  present  standing  and  attainments  with 
what  they  should  be,  and  to  desire  to  surpass  himself. 
This  is  ever  commendable.  Man  was  made  for  progress, 
and  it  is  no  unworthy  aspiration  when  this  desire  fires  the 
youthful  breast.  The  teacher,  then,  may  appeal  to  this 
desire,  may  kindle  it  into  a  flame  even,  with  safety— 
because  it  is  a  flame  that  warms  without  consuming  that 
on  which  it  feeds. 

Ill  A  Desire  to  be  Useful. — The  good  teacher 
should  never  fail  to  impress  upon  the  child  that  the 
object  of  his  being  placed  on  earth  was  that  he  might 
be  of  some  use  to  the  world  by  which  he  is  surrounded. 
'  No  man  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  him- 
self." He  can  be  thus  useful  by  storing  the  mind  with 
knowledge  and  the  heart  with  right  affections.  He 
may  be  reminded  of  the  connection  between  his  present 
studies  and  the  pursuits  of  life  to  which  they  may  be 
applied.  Some  judicious  hint  at  the  future  application 
of  any  branch  is  always  a  good  preparation  of  the  mind 
to  pursue  it.  If  there  is  a  definite  object  in  view,  there 
will  always  be  more  alacrity  in  the  labor  of  study;  and 
this  may  be  made  to  influence  the  young  pupil  as  well 
as  the  more  advanced.  It  is  no  small  thing  for  the 
child  if  he  can  be  early  made  to  feel  that  he  is  living  to 
some  purpose. 


128  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACH  1  Mi. 

IV.  A  Desire  to  Do  Right.— This,  in  other  words, 
is  a  disposition  to  obey  conscience  by  conforming  to  the 
will  of  God.  This,  indeed,  is  the  highest  and  holiest  of 
ail  the  motives  to  human  action.  In  its  fullest  sense 
it  constitutes  the  fundamental  principle  of  a  religious 
character.  The  teacher  should  most  assiduously  cul- 
tivate in  the  child  a  regard  for  this  principle.  God  has 
implanted  the  conscience  in  every  child  of  earth,  that  it 
should  early  be  made  use  of  to  regulate  the  conduct. 
That  teacher  is  either  grossly  ignorant  or  madly  per- 
verse who  disregards  the  conscience,  while  he  appeals 
alone  to  the  selfishness  of  the  young,  and  thus  practi- 
cally teaches  that  moral  obligation  is  a  nullity  ;  that  the 
law  of  God — so  beautifully  expounded  by  the  Saviour — 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart 
and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind,"  and 
''Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself" — is  of  little 
consequence ;  and  that  the  injunction  of  the  Apostle — 
"  Whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to 
the  glory  of  God,"  is  as  good  as  obsolete, 

Conscience  Active  in  Childhood. — In  early  childhood 
the  conscience  is  most  active.  It  needs,  to  be  sure,  at 
that  period  to  be  enlightened ;  but  if  the  teachings  of 
Revelation  are  made  plain  to  the  child,  he  seldom  disre- 
gards them.  The  teacher  has  at  this  period  very  much 
to  do,  as  I  have  before  said  in  the  chapter  on  ''  Responsi- 
bility of  Teachers  "  ;  and  he  cannot  neglect  his  duty  with 
out  the  most  aggravated  culpability.  The  point  I  urge 
here  is  that  he  should  use  these  motives  as  incentives  to 
study. 

Sense  of  Obligation. — The  child  can  be  made  to  feel 
that  he  owes  the  most  diligent  efforts  for  improvement 
to  his  teacher,  who  daily  labors  for  his  improvement ;  to 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  129 

his    parents,  who   have   kindly  supplied    his  wants,  and 
have  provided  the  means  for  his  cultivation  ;   to  society, 
whose   privileges   he    may   enjoy,   and    to   which    he    is 
bound  to  make  a  return  by  becoming  an  intelligent  and 
useful  member  of  it;    to  himself,  as  a  rational  and  im- 
mortal being,  capable  of  unbounded  enjoyment  or  un- 
told misery,  just  in  proportion    as   he    prepares   himself 
for   either;   and    above   all   to   his  CREATOR,  by  whose 
bounty  he   lives,  surrounded    with    friends   and    blessed 
with  opportunities,  which  are  denied  to  millions  of   his 
fellow-beings  —  by   whose   gracious   providence   he    has 
been  endowed  with  faculties  and  capabilities  making  him 
but  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and  which  he  is  bound 
to   cultivate    for   usefulness   and    for  heaven — by  whose 
mercy  he  has   been   supplied,  as  millions  have  not,  with 
the  Word  of  God,  to  guide  his  mind  to  things  above, 
and  with  the  influences  of  Christian  society,  to  cheer  him 
in  his  path  to  heaven — above  all,   I  repeat,  should  the 
child  be  taught  to  feel  that  he  owes  to  God  his  best  efforts 
to  make  the  most  of  all  his  powers  for  time  and  eternity. 
If  this  can  be  done  (and  I  believe  to  a  great  extent  it  can 
be  done),  there  will  be  no  need  of  a  resort  to  those  ques- 
tionable incentives  found  in  exciting  children  to  outstrip 
their  fellows  by  prizes  and  rewards;  while  in  this  very 
process  the  foundation  of  a  good  moral  training  will  be 
laid,  without  which  the  perfect  structure  of  a  noble  char- 
acter can  never  be  reared  in  later  life. 

To  the  motives  already  alluded  to,  if  it  be  necessary  to 
add  another,  I  would  urge — 

V.  The  Pleasure  of  Acquisition. — This  is  often 
underrated  by  teachers.  Our  Creator  has  not  more  uni- 
versally bestowed  a  natural  appetite  for  the  food  which  is 
necessary  for  the  growth  of  the  body  than  He  has  a 


180  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

mental  longing  for  the  food  ot  the  mind  ;  and  as  he  has 
superadded  a  sensation  of  pleasure  to  the  necessary  act 
of  eating,  so  He  has  made  it  a  law  of  the  mind  to  expe- 
rience its  highest  delight  while  in  the  act  of  receiving  the 
mental  aliment.  Whoever  has  observed  childhood  with 
an  attentive  eye  must  have  been  impressed  with  the  wis- 
dom of  God  in  this  arrangement.  How  much  the  child 
acquires  within  the  first  three  years  after  its  birth  !  He 
learns  a  difficult  language  with  more  precision  than  a  well- 
educated  adult  foreigner  could  learn  it  in  the  same  time; 
yet  language  is  not  his  only  or  his  chief  study. 
During  these  same  three  years  he  makes  sur- 
prising advances  in  general  knowledge.  He  seeks  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  all  the  physical  objects  by 
which  he  is  surrounded.  The  size,  form,  color  weight, 
temperature,  and  use  of  each  aie  investigated  by  the 
test  of  his  own  senses,  or  ascertained  by  innumerable  in- 
quiries. His  ideas  of  height  and  distance,  of  light  and 
heat,  of  motion  and  velocity,  of  cause  and  effect,  are  all 
well  defined.  He  has  made  no  mean  attainments  in 
morals.  He  comprehends  the  law  of  right  and  wrong, 
so  that  his  decisions  may  well  put  to  the  blush  his  supe- 
riors in  age ;  and  unless  grossly  neglected  he  has  learned 
the  duty  of  obedience  to  parents  and  reverence  towards 
God.  Now  all  this  amazing  progress  has  been  made 
because  of  the  irrepressible  curiosity  with  which  God 
has  endowed  him,  and  the  unspeakable  delight  he  expe- 
riences in  acquiring  the  knowledge  which  gratifies  it. 

Mr.  Mann  Quoted. — All  must  have  noticed  the  delight 
with  which  the  child  grasps  a  new  idea  ;  but  few  have 
been  able  so  eloquently  to  describe  it  as  it  is  done  by 
Mr.  Mann.  -  Mark  a  child,"  says  he,  "  when  a  clear, 
well-defined,  vivid  conception  seizes  it.  The  whole  ner- 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  131 

vous  tissue  vibrates.  Every  muscle  leaps.  Every  joint 
plays.  The  face  becomes  auroral.  The  spirit  flashes 
through  the  body  like  lightning  through  a  cloud." 

The  Blind  and  the  Dumb.— "  Observe,  too,  the  blind, 
the  deaf,  and  the  dumb.  So  strong  is  their  inborn 
desire  for  knowledge,  such  are  the  amazing  attractive 
forces  of  their  minds  for  it,  that  although  the  natural 
inlets,  the  eye  and  the  ear,  are  closed,  yet  they  will  draw 
it  inward  through  the  solid  walls  and  encasements  of  the 
body.  If  the  eye  be  curtained  with  darkness,  it  will 
enter  through  the  ear.  If  the  ear  be  closed  in  silence, 
it  will  ascend  along  the  nerves  of  touch.  Every  new 
idea  that  enters  into  the  presence  of  the  Sovereign 
Mind  carries  offerings  of  delight  with  it,  to  make  its 
coming  welcome.  Indeed,  our  Maker  created  us  in 
blank  ignorance,  for  the  very  purpose  of  giving  us  the 
boundless,  endless  pleasure  of  learning  new  things." 

This  Pleasure  Abates  in  After-life. — It  is,  of  course, 
not  to  be  expected  that  the  same  degree  of  pleasure  will 
attend  the  learner  in  every  acquisition  as  the  novelty 
diminishes,  and  as  he  advances  in  age.  The  bodily  ap- 
petite is  less  keen  in  after-life  than  in  childhood,  so  that 
the  adult  may  never  realize  again  to  the  full  extent  the 
delicious  flavors  which  regaled  him  in  his  earliest  years. 
Still  there  will  ever  be  a  delight  in  acquisition  ;  and  to 
carry  our  illustration  a  little  further,  as  the  child  is 
soonest  cloyed  whose  stomach  is  surfeited  with  dainties, 
and  stimulated  with  condiments,  and  pampered  with 
sweetmeats,  till  his  taste  has  lost  its  acumen  and  diges- 
tion becomes  a  burden,  so  the  mental  appetite  is  soonest 
destroyed  when,  under  the  unskillful  teacher,  it  is  over- 
loaded with  what  it  can  neither  digest  nor  disgorge. 
The  mind  may  be  surfeited  ;  and  then  no  wonder  if  it 


132  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

loathes  even  the  wholesome  aliment.  Artificial  stimu- 
lants, in  the  shape  of  prizes,  and  honors,  and  flattery, 
and  fear  and  shame,  may  have  impaired  its  functions, 
so  that  it  ceases  to  act  except  under  their  excitement. 
But  all  must  see  that  these  are  unnatural  conditions, 
superinduced  by  erroneous  treatment.  There  is  still  a 
delight  in  acquisition,  just  as  soon  as  the  faculties  are 
aroused  to  the  effort  ;  and  the  skillful  teacher  will  strive 
to  wake  up  tJie  mind  to  find  this  delight,  and  if  he 
understands  his  work  he  will  scarcely  need  a  stronger 
incentive.  If  he  understands  the  secret  of  giving  just 
so  much  instruction  as  to  excite  the  learner's  curiosity, 
and  then  to  leave  him  to  discover  and  acquire  for  him- 
self, he  will  have  no  necessity  to  use  any  other  means 
as  stimulants  to  exertion. 

Instance  of  God's  Wisdom  and  Goodness. — To  this 
might  be  added  that  irrepressible  curiosity,  that  all  per- 
vading desire  to  know,  which  is  found  in  the  mind  of  every 
child.  The  mind,  as  if  conscious  of  its  high  destiny,  in- 
stinctively spreads  its  unfledged  wings  in  pursuit  of 
knowledge.  This,  with  some  children,  is  an  all-sufficient 
stimulant  to  the  most  vigorous  exertion.  To  this  the 
teacher  may  safely  appeal.  Indeed,  it  is  a  convincing 
proof  of  the  wisdom  as  well  as  the  goodness  of  God,  that 
this  desire  to  know,  as  well  as  the  delight  of  acquisition,  are 
the  most  active  at  that  early  period  of  childhood,  when  a 
just  appreciation  of  the  utility  of  knowledge,  and  the 
higher  motives  already  detailed,  could  scarcely  find  a 
lodgment  in  the  tender  mind.  It  seems  to  be,  there- 
fore, an  indisputable  dictate  of  our  very  nature  that  both 
these  principles  should  be  early  employed  as  incentives. 

A  Scholium. — If,  then,  the  desire  of  the  approval  of 
parents  and  teachers, — the  desire  oj  advancement, — the  de- 


EXCITING  INTEREST  IN  STUDY.  133 

sire  to  be  useful, — and  the  desire  to  do  right,  can  be  super- 
added  to  the  natural  love  in  the  child  for  acquisition,  and 
a  natural  desire  to  know,  there  will,  as  I  believe,  be  but 
little  occasion  to  look  further  for  incentives  to  exertion 
in  the  pupil ;  and  I  may  venture  to  add,  as  a  scholium  to 
what  has  already  been  said,  that  the  teacher  who  has  not 
yet  learned  to  call  into  exercise  these  higher  motives,  and 
to  rely  for  success  mainly  upon  them,  and  who  dares  not 
abandon  the  system  of  exciting  stimulants  for  fear  of  a 
failure,  has  yet  much  to  learn  as  a  true  educator  of  the 
young. 


134  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

Order  Necessary  in  School. — It  is  not  necessary  that 
any  space  in  this  work  should  be  occupied  in  speaking  of 
the  importance  of  order  in  our  schools.  Everybody  who 
has  written  or  spoken  on  this  subject  has  conceded  the 
necessity  of  obedience  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  "  ORDER 
IS  HEAVEN'S  FIRST  LAW  ;"  and  it  is  scarcely  more  essen- 
tial to  the  Harmony  of  Heaven  than  it  is  to  the  happiness 
and  success  of  the  school. 

If  such  be  the  necessity  of  order  in  the  school,  then 
the  ability  to  secure  and  maintain  it  is  no  mean  part  of 
the  qualification  of  the  good  teacher.  It  is  lamentable 
that  so  many  fail  in  this  particular ;  and  yet  this  frequent 
failure  can  in  most  cases  be  traced  to  some  defect  in  the 
constitutional  temperament,  or  some  deficiency  in  the 
mental  or  moral  culture  of  the  teacher  himself.  It  shall 
be  my  first  object,  then,  to  point  out  some  of  the 
SECTION  I.  REQUISITES  IN  THE  TEACHER  FOR  GOOD 
GOVERNMENT. 

I.  Self-government. — It  has  freqnently  been  said  that 
no  man  can  govern  others  till  he  has  learned  to  govern 
himself.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this.  If  an 
individual  is  not  perfectly  self-possessed,  his  decisions 
must  fail  to  command  respect.  The  self-gover,iment 
of  the  teacher  should  be  complete  in  the  following  par- 
ticulars :  — 

i.  As  to  the  Passion  of  Anger.  —  The  exhibition 
of  anger  always  detracts  from  the  weight  of  authority. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  135 

A  man  under  its  influence  is  not  capable  of  doing  strict 
justice  to  his  pupils.  Before  entering  upon  teaching, 
therefore,  a  man  should  somehow  obtain  the  mastery 
over  his  temper,  so  that  under  any  provocation  he  can 
control  it.  He  should  consider  that  in  school  his  pa- 
tience will  often  be  severely  tried.  He  should  not  ex- 
pect, indeed,  that  the  current  of  affairs  in  school  will 
for  a  single  day  run  perfectly  smooth.  He  should, 
therefore,  prepare  for  the  worst,  and  firmly  resolve  that, 
whatever  unpleasant  thing  shall  occur,  it  shall  not  take 
him  entirely  by  surprise.  Such  forethought  will  give 
him  self  command.  If,  however,  from  his  past  experi- 
ence, and  from  the  nature  of  his  temperament,  he  is 
satisfied  he  cannot  exercise  this  self-control,  he  may  be 
assured  he  is  the  wrong  man  to  engage  in  teaching.  A 
man  who  has  not  acquired  thorough  ascendency  over  his 
own  passions  is  an  unsafe  man  to  be  intrusted  with  the 
government  of  children. 

2.  As  to  Levity  and  Moroseness  of  Manner. — Either 
extreme  is  to  be  avoided.  There  are  some  teachers 
who  exhibit  such  a  frivolity  in  all  their  intercourse  with 
their  pupils  that  they  can  never  command  them  with 
authority,  or  gain  their  cordial  respect.  This  is  a 
grievous  fault ;  and  the  teacher  should  at  once  find  an 
antidote  for  it  by  serious  reflection  upon  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  position.  If  this  will  not  cure  it,  nothing 
else  can. 

Perpetual  Peevishness. — There  are  others  who  are 
characterized  by  a  perpetual  peevishness  so  that  a  pleas- 
ant word  from  them  is,  indeed,  a  strange  thing.  They 
can  never  expect  to  gain  the  affections  of  their  pupils  ; 
and  without  securing  the  love  of  children,  the  govern- 


136  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

merit   of  them    will   never   be   of  the  right  kind.     This 
habit  of  sna/>pishness  should  be  broken  up  at  once. 

Ridiculous  Assumption  of  Smartness. — There  are 
some  very  young  teachers  who  sometimes  assume  one  or 
the  other  of  these  peculiar  modes  of  address,  or  perhaps 
both,  to  be  used  alternately — fancying  that  they  will  gain 
popularity  by  the  one  or  give  themselves  greater  author- 
ity by  the  other.  This  is  a  very  mistaken  notion  ;  for 
children  have  more  discernment  than  most  men  give 
them  credit  for,  and  they  usually  see  directly  through 
such  a  flimsy  disguise;— and  the  teacher  becomes  ridicu- 
lous, rather  than  great,  in  their  estimation  whenever  he 
takes  any  such  false  position. 

Mr.  Abbot's  Case.— Mr.  Abbot,  in  his  "  Teacher," 
states  a  fact  which  well  illustrates  this  point.  "  Many 
years  ago,"  says  he,  "  when  I  was  a  child,  the  teacher  of 
the  school  where  my  early  studies  were  performed  closed 
his  connection  with  the  establishnent,  and,  after  a  short 
vacation,  another  was  expected.  On  the  appointed  day 
the  boys  began  to  collect,  some  from  curiosity,  at  an 
early  hour,  and  many  speculations  were  started  as  to 
the  character  of  the  new  instructor.  We  were  stand- 
ing near  a  table  with  our  hats  on, — and  our  position, 
and  the  exact  appearance  of  the  group  is  indelibly 
fixed  on  my  memory, — when  a  small  and  youthful 
looking  man  entered  the  room  and  walked  up  towards 
us.  Supposing  him  to  be  some  stranger,  or,  rather,, 
not  making  any  supposition  at  all,  we  stood  looking 
at  him  as  he  approached,  and  were  thunderstruck 
at  hearing  him  accost  us  in  a  stern  voice  and 
sterner  brow :  '  Take  off  your  hats !  Take  off  your 
hats,  and  go  to  your  seats!'  The  conviction  immedi- 
ately rushed  upon  our  minds  that  this  must  be  the  new 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  137 

teacher.  The  first  emotion  was  that  of  surprise,  and 
the  second  was  that  of  the  ludicrous  ;  though  I  believe  we 
contrived  to  smother  the  laugh  until  we  got  out  into  the 
open  air." 

The  true  rule  is  to  act  the  part  which  is  agreeable  to 
Nature.  The  teacher  having  sained  the  self-command 
just  insisted  upon,  and  having  in  him  the  spirit  of  kind- 
ness and  a  desire  to  be  useful,  should  assume  nothing 
unnatural  for  effect.  His  manner  should  be  truly  dig- 
nified, but  courteous. 

3.  As  to  His  Treatment  of  those  Pupils  that  are 
Marked  by  Some  Peculiarity.— There  will  usually  be 
some  pupils  who  are  very  backward  and  perhaps  very 
dull —  or  who  may  have  some  physical  defect,  or  some 
mental  eccentricity.  The  teacher  should  be  able  to 
govern  himself  in  all  his  remarks  concerning  such  pupils. 
He  should  avoid  all  allusion  to  such  singularities  before 
the  school;  and  it  is  the  height  of  injustice — I  was 
about  to  say  malevolence — for  him  ever  to  use  those  low 
and  degrading  epithets  so  often  found  upon  the  teacher's 
tongue — such  as  dunce,  thickskull,  and  the  like.  Is  it  not 
misfortune  enough  for  a  child  to  be  backward  or  dull, 
without  having  the  pain  and  mortification  increased  by 
the  cruelty  of  an  unfeeling  teacher?  The  teacher  should 
take  a  special  interest  in  such  children  ;  he  should  en- 
deavor to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  their  parents, 
and  to  treat  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  encourage  rather 
than  crush  them. 

II.  A  Confidence  in  His  Ability  to  Govern. — We  can 
generally  do  what  we  firmly  believe  we  can  do.  At 
any  rate,  a  man  is  more  likely  to  succeed  in  any  enter- 
prise when  he  has  the  feeling  of  self-reliance.  The 
teacher,  by  reflection  upon  the  importance  of  good  gov- 


138  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

ernment  to  his  success,  and  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
means  to  be  employed  and  the  motives  to  be  presented, 
should  be  able  to  bring  himself  to  the  determination  to 
have  good  order  in  his  school,  and  so  fully  to  believe  he 
can  have  it,  that  his  pupils  shall  detect  no  misgivings  in 
him  on  this  point.  Whenever  they  discover  that  he  has 
doubts  of  his  success  in  governing,  they  will  be  far  more 
ready  to  put  his  skill  to  the  test.  It  would  be  better 
that  a  young  teacher  should  decline  to  take  a  difficult 
school  rather  than  enter  it  without  the  full  belief  of  his 
ability  to  succeed.  I  would  not  wish  to  be  understood 
by  these  remarks  to  be  encouraging  an  unreasonable  and 
blind  presumption.  A  confidence  in  one's  ability  should 
be  founded  upon  a  reasonable  estimate  of  his  powers, 
compared  with  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  What  I 
recommend  is  that  the  teacher  should  carefully  weigh  the 
difficulties  and  candidly  judge  of  his  own  resources,  and 
then  undertake  nothing  which  he  thinks  is  beyond  his 
ability.  If,  after  this,  he  believes  he  can  succeed,  other 
things  being  equal,  success  is  almost  certain. 

III.  Just  Views  of  Government. — I.  It  is  not  tyr- 
anny, exercised  to  please  the  one  who  governs,  or  to  pro- 
mote his  own  convenience.  The  despot  commands 
for  the  sake  of  being  obeyed.  But  government,  in  its 
proper  sense,  is  an  arrangement  for  \htgeneralgood— 
for  the  benefit  of  the  governed  as  well  as  of  the  ruler. 
That  is  not  good  government  which  seeks  any  other 
object.  The  teacher  should  so  view  the  matter ;  and 
in  establishing  any  regulations  in  school,  he  should 
always  inquire  whether  they  are  suggested  by  a  selfish 
regard  to  his  own  ease,  or  whether  they  spring  from  a 
sincere  and  disinterested  wish  to  promote  the  improve- 
ment  of  the  school. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  139 

2.  Uniform  Government. — He  should  see  the   neces- 
sity of   making  the   government    uniform ;  that  is,  the 
same  from  day  to  day.     If  he  punishes  to-day  what  he 
tolerates  to-morrow,  he  cannot  expect  the  cordial  respect 
of  his   pupils.  •  Some  teachers,  not  having   learned   the 
art  of  self-government,  take  counsel  too  much  of   their 
own  feelings.     To-day  they  are  in  good  health  and  spirits, 
and  their  faces   are  clothed  in  sunshine  ;  they  can  smile 
at  anything.     To-morrow,  suffering  under  bad  digestion, 
or  the  want   of    exercise,    or   the   want    of   sleep,    the- 
thunder-storm   hovers   about  their  brow,   ready  to   burst 
upon    the  first  offender.     Woe  to  the  luckless  wight  who 
does  not  seasonably  discover  this  change  in  the   con- 
dition   of   the  weather  !     A  teacher  cannot    long   respect 
himself  who   is   thus   capricious ;    he  may   be    sure   his 
school  will  not  long  respect  him. 

3.  No  Aristocracy  in  School. — He   should    so    view 
government   as  to   make   it   equal ;  that   is,  eqnal   in  its 
application  to  the  whole  school — the   large   as  well  as 
small   scholars,  the    males   as  well   as    females.     This  is 
often  a  great  fault  with  teachers.     They  raise  up  a  sort 
of    aristocracy   in   their    schools — a    privileged    class,    a 
miniature  nobility.     They  will  insist  that  the  "little  boys 
and  girls  shall  abstain  from   certain  practices, — whisper- 
ing,   for   instance, — and   most   promptly  punish   the  of- 
fenders, while   they   tolerate   the  same  thing  among  the 
larger   pupils.     This   is   cowardly  in   itself,    and  as   im- 
politic as   it    is  cowardly.     The   teacher  makes   a  great 
mistake  who  begins  his  government  with  the  small  chil- 
dren, in   the   hope  of   frightening  the  larger  ones   into 
obedience.      He   should    have   the    manliness    and    the 
justice  to  begin  with  the  larger  pupils  ;   the  smaller  ones 
never  resist  when    authority  is  established  with  those 


140  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

above  them.  Besides  this,  the  very  class  who  are  thus 
indulged  are  the  very  ones  who  soonest  despise,  and 
justly,  too,  the  authority  of  the  teacher. 

No  Partiality. — He  should  make  his  government  im- 
partial \n  eveiy  respect.  He  should  have  no  favorites — 
no  preferences,  based  upon  the  outward  circumstances  of 
the  child,  his  family,  or  his  personal  attractions,  and  the 
like.  The  rich  and  the  poor  should  be  alike  to  the 
teacher.  He  should  remember  that  each  child  has  a 
soul ;  and  it  is  with  the  soul,  and  not  with  the  wealth  of 
this  world,  that  he  has  to  do.  He  should  remember  that 
a  gem  as  bright  as  a  sunbeam  is  often  concealed  under  a 
rough  exterior.  It  should  be  his  work — nay,  his  delight 
— to  bring  out  this  gem  from  its  hiding-place,  and  apply 
to  it  the  polish  of  a  "  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed." 

IV.  Just  Views  of  the  Governed. — Notwithstanding 
the  imperfection  of  human  nature  as  developed  in  the 
young,  they  have  some  redeeming  qualities.  They  are 
intelligent  and  reasonable  beings.  They  have  more  or 
less  love  of  approbation  ;  they  have  affection,  and,  above 
all,  they  have  a  moral  sense.  All  these  qualities  are 
considerably  developed  before  they  enter  the  school. 
The  teacher  should  remember  this,  and  prepare  himself 
to  address,  as  far  as  may  be,  all  these.  Lcve  of  appro- 
bation, as  we  have  before  seen,  is  not  an  unworthy 
motive  to  be  addressed  ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  many 
children  are  very  easily  controlled  by  it.  It  is  not  the 
highest  motive,  to  be  sure ;  nor  is  it  the  lowest.  The 
affection  for  a  teacher,  which  many  children  will  exercise 
is  one  of  the  most  powerful  instrumentalities  in  govern- 
ing them  with  ease.  The  conscience,  early  trained,  is  all- 
powerful.  I  allude  to  these  principles  of  action  once 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  141 

more,  in  order  to  say  that  the  peculiar  character  of  each 
should  be  well  studied  by  the  teacher.  He  should  un- 
derstand the  human  mind  so  well  as  to  be  able  to  find 
the  avenues  to  these  better  parts  of  the  child's  nature, 
remembering  that,  whenever  several  ways  are  presented 
of  doing  the  same  thing,  it  is  always  wise  to  choose  the 
best. 

V.  Decision  and  Firmness. — By  decision  I  mean  a 
readiness  to  determine  and  to  act,  in  any  event,  just  as 
duty  seems  to  dictate  ;  a  willingness  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility just  as  soon  as  the  way  is  plain.  By  firmness  is 
meant  that  fixedness  of  purpose  which  resolutely  carries 
out  a  righteous  decision.  Both  of  these  qualities  are 
essential  to  good  government  in  the  teacher.  Much  time 
is  often  lost  by  a  teacher's  vacillating  when  action  is  more 
important.  Besides,  if  the  pupils  discover  that  the 
teacher  hesitates,  and  dreads  to  take  any  responsibility, 
they  very  soon  lose  their  respect  for  him.  I  would  not 
urge  that  a  teacher  should  act  hastily.  He  never  should 
decide  till  he  is  confident  he  decides  right  ;  any  delay  is 
better  than  hasty  error.  But  his  delay,  in  all  matters  of 
government,  should  have  reference  to  a  true  knowledge 
of  his  duty ;  when  that  is  clearly  known,  he  should  be 
decided. 

The  Unjust  Judge. — Many  teachers  suffer  in  their 
government  for  want  of  firmness.  They  act  upon  the 
principle  of  personal  convenience,  as  did  the  unjust 
judge  mentioned  in  the  parable :  "And  he  would  not 
for  a  while  ;  but  afterwards  he  said  within  himself, 
though  I  fear  not  God  nor  regard  man,  yet  because  this 
widow  troubleth  me,  I  will  arise  and  avenge  her,  lest  by  her 
continued  coming  she  weary  me." 


142  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

A  Practical  Example. — How  often  we  hear  something 
like  this  in  the  school-room  :  "  May  I  go  and  drink  ?  '* 
says  James,  in  a  peculiarly  imploring  tone.  "  No,"  says 
the  teacher  promptly,  and  evidently  without  any  reflec- 
tion as  to  the  decision  he  has  made.  James  very  com- 
posedly sits  down,  eyeing  the  countenance  of  the  teacher 
expressively,  as  much  as  to  say  ;  "  I'll  try  you  again 
soon."  Before  long  he  observes  the  teacher  quite  busy 
with  a  class,  and  he  again  pops  the  question  :  "  May  I 
go  and  drink?"  Stung  at  the  moment  with  impatience 
at  the  interruption,  the  teacher  answers,  instantly  and 
emphatically:  "  No,  no,  James,  sit  down!"  James  still 
watches  his  teacher's  expression,  and  cannot  discover 
there  any  signs  of  a  mind  seeking  the  path  of  duty,  and 
he  silently  thinks  to  himself,  "the  third  time  never  fails." 
So,  after  a  minute  or  two,  when  the  teacher  is  somewhat 
puzzled  with  a  knotty  question,  and  is  on  the  point  of 
nibbing  a  pen  besides, — "  May  I  go  and  drink,  sir  f  again 
rings  up^n  the  teacher's  ear.  "  Yes,  yes,  yes !  Do  go 
along ;  I  suppose  you  II  keep  asking  till  you  get  it  /" 

Philosophizing — Conclusion. — Now  James  goes  to 
drink,  and  then  returns  to  philosophize  upon  this  matter, 
perhaps  as  follows:  "I  don't  believe  he  stopped  to 
think  whether  I  needed  drink  or  not ;  therefore,  here- 
after I  shall  never  believe  he  really  means  no  when  he 
says  it.  He  acts  without  thought.  I  have  also  found 
that,  if  I  will  but  ask  several  times,  I  shall  get  it.  So  I 
shall  know  how  to  proceed  next  time."  I  do  not  know 
that  any  child  would  express  this  thought  in  so  many 
words  ;  but  the  impression  upon  his  mind  is  none  the 
less  distinct. 

A  Better  Way. — Now  the  teacher  should  carefully 
consider  the  question  addressed  to  him.  How  long 


SCHOOL  (;<)\  KKNMICNT.  14:1 

since  this  child  had  water?  Can  it  be  necessary  for 
him  to  drink  so  often?  Then  let  the  answer  be  given, 
mildly  but  decidedly:  "No,  James."  The  very  man- 
ner, quite  likely,  will  settle  the  question,  so  that  James 
will  not  ask  again.  The  answer  once  given  should  be 
firmly  adhered  to.  It  would  even  be  better  that  James 
should  suffer  for  the  want  of  water  than  for  the  want 
of  confidence  in  his  teacher's  firmness.  In  this  way  the 
teacher  would  establish  his  word  with  the  school  in  a 
very  few  days  ;  and  his  pupils  would  soon  learn  that 
with  him  "no  means  no,"  and  "yes  means  yes" — a 
matter  of  no  small  importance  to  the  teacher  of  a 
school  ! 

VI.  Deep  Moral  Principle. — The  teacher  should  ever 
be  a  conscientious  man,  and  in  nothing  is  this  more 
necessary  than  in  the  exercise  of  good  government.  In 
this  matter  the  teacher  can  never  respect  himself  when 
he  acts  from  caprice  or  selfishness.  His  inquiry  should 
be,  What  is  right?  What  is  justice — justice  to  my 
pupils — to  myself?  And  if  he  could  add  to  moral  obli- 
gation the  high  sanction  of  religious  principle,  and 
could  habitually  and  sincerely  turn  his  thoughts  to  his 
Maker,  with  the  heartfelt  inquiry — What  wilt  THOU 
have  me  to  do? — then  he  would  seldom  err  in  the  dis- 
charge of  this  trust.  His  pupils,  seeing  that  he  acted 
from  fixed  and  deep  principle,  would  respect  his  hon- 
esty, even  if  he  should  cross  their  desires. 

Having  now  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  requisites 
in  the  teacher  for  good  government,  I  shall  next  proceed  to 
present  some  of  the 

SECTION   II.      MEANS   OF   SECURING   GOOD   ORDER. 

I.    Be  Careful  as   to   the   First   Impression   You 

Make. — It  is  an  old  proverb,  that  "  what  is  well  begun  is 


144  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

half  done."  This  holds  true  in  school-keeping,  and  par- 
ticularly in  school-government.  The  young  study  char- 
acter very  speedily  and  very  accurately.  Perhaps  no  one 
pupil  could  express  in  words  an  exact  estimate  of  a 
teacher's  character  after  a  week's  acquaintance ;  but  yet 
the  whole  school  has  received  an  impression  which  is  not 
far  from  the  truth.  A  teacher,  then,  is  very  unwise  who 
attempts  to  assume  to  be  any  thing  which  he  is  not.  He 
should  ever  be  frank,  and  in  commencing  a  school  he 
should  begin  as  he  can  hold  out.  Any  assumption  of  an 
authoritative  tone  is  especially  ill-judged.  The  pupils  at 
once  put  themselves  in  an  attitude  of  resistance  when 
this  is  perceived  by  them. 

Respect  Precedes  Attachment. — A  teacher  should 
jver  remember  that  among  children — however  it  may  be 
imong  adults — respect  always  precedes  attachment.  If 
he  would  gain  the  love  of  the  children,  he  must  first  be 
worthy  of  their  respect.  He  should  therefore  act  delib- 
erately, and  always  conscientiously.  He  should  be  firm 
but  never  petulant.  It  is  very  important  at  the  outset 
that  he  should  be  truly  courteous  and  affable.  It  is  much 
wiser  to  request  than  to  command,  at  least  until  the  re- 
quest has  been  disregarded. 

The  Rough  and  the  Gentle  Way. — There  are  usually 
two  ways  of  doing  a  thing — a  gentle  and  a  rough  way. 
"John,  go  and  shut  that  door,"  in  a  gruff  tone,  is  one 
way  to  have  a  door  closed.  John  will  undoubtedly  go 
and  shut  the  door, — perhaps  with  a  slam, — but  he  will 
not  thank  the  teacher  for  the  rough  tones  used  in  com- 
manding it.  Now  it  costs  no  more  time  or  breath  to 
say,  "John,  I'll  thank  you  if  you  will  shut  that  door." 
Most  cheerfully  will  John  comply  with  the  request,  and 
he  is  grateful  that  he  has  heard  these  tones  of  kindness. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  145 

If  he  could  but  know  the  teacher's  wishes  afterward,  he 
would  gladly  perform,  them  unasked.  I  would  by  no 
means  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  fawning  tone  of 
the  sycophant  by  the  teacher.  He  should  be  manly  and 
dignified ;  but  the  language  of  that  courtesy  which 
springs  from  real  kindness,  and  which  ever  becomes  the 
gentleman,  is  always  the  most  suitable  as  well  as  most 
expedient  for  him. 

II.  Avoid  Exhibiting  or  Entertaining  a  Suspicious 
Spirit.— It  is  a  maxim  of  law,  that  one  charged  with 
crime  is  always  to  be  presumed  innocent  until  proved 
guilty.  This  should  be  a  maxim  with  the  teacher  who 
would  govern  well.  There  is  no  more  direct  way  of 
making  a  school  vicious  than  by  showing  them  that  you 
suspect  they  are  so.  A  good  reputation  is  dear  to  all ; 
and  even  a  bad  boy  will  be  restrained  from  wicked  acts 
as  long  as  he  thinks  you  give  him  credit  for  good  inten- 
tions. But  if  he  finds  that  he  has  lost  your  good  opinion, 
he  feels  that  he  has  nothing  further  to  lose  by  being  as 
bad  as  you  suspect  him  to  be.  A  teacher  is  wise,  there- 
fore, if  he  tries  to  see  something  good  even  in  a  vicious 
pupil.  It  may  be,  as  it  often  has  been,  the  means  of 
saving  such  a  pupil. 

A  Bad  Boy  Saved. — I  have  known  a  very  depraved 
boy  entirely  reformed  in  school,  by  his  teacher's  letting 
him  know  that  he  had  noticed  some  good  traits  in  his 
character.  He  afterwards  told  his  teacher  that  "  he  had 
been  so  often  suspected  to  be  a  villain  that  he  had 
almost  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  be  one ; 
but  that,  when  he  found  one  man  who  could  do  him  the 
justice  to  give  him  credit  for  a  few  good  feelings — (for  he 
knew  he  had  them) — he  at  once  determined  to  show 
that  man  that  his  confidence  had  not  been  misplaced, 


146  THEORY  AND    PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

and  that  he  would  sooner  die  than  knowingly  offend  the 
only  person  who  ever  had  understood  him."  - 

A  Token  of  Confidence. — It  is  wise  sometimes  not 
only  to  withhold  the  expression  of  suspicion,  but-to  give 
some  token  of  your  confidence  to  the  pupil  who  is 
troublesome.  Intrust  him  with  some  errand  involving 
responsibility,  or  assign  to  him  some  duty  by  way  of 
assistance  to  yourself,  and  very  likely  you  will  gain  his 
good-will  ever  after.  This  is  founded  upon  the  well- 
known  principle  in  human  nature,  acted  upon  by  Dr. 
Franklin,  who,  when  he  would  gain  his  enemy,  asked  him 
to  do  him  a  favor. 

III.  As  Soon  as  Possible  Give  Regular  and  Full 
Employment. — It  is  an  old  proverb  that  "  idleness  is  the 
mother  of  mischief."  The  nursery  hymn  also  contains  a 
living  truth — 

"  And  Satan  finds  some  mischief  still 
For  idle  hands  to  do." 

It  is  the  law  of  a  child's  nature  to  be  active  ;  and  as  the 
teacher  is  placed  in  the  school  to  give  direction  to  such 
minds,  he  can  hardly  complain  of  their  going  upon  for- 
bidden objects  unless  he  seasonably  provides  something 
better  for  them  to  do. 

The  Teacher  May  Enforce  Employment. — Very 
early,  then,  the  teacher  should  endeavor  to  classify  his 
school  and  furnish  constant  and  full  employment — either 
of  study,  recitation,  or  relaxation — for  every  hour  in  the 
day.  The  teacher  should  have  a  plan  when  he  opens  the 
,  school,  and  the  sooner  it  is  carried  into  full  operation  the 
better.1  Besides,  when  a  teacher  has  given  employment, 
he  has  the  right  to  insist  upon  the  pupil's  being  engaged 
in  study.  Nobody  will  question  this  right ;  and  it  is  far 

i  See  Chap.  X.  of  thi*  work. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  147 

more  profitable  to  require  a  positive  duty  than  to  enjoin 
a  negative, — such  as  abstinence  from  whispering  or  from 
mischief  in  general. 

IV.  Make  but  Few  Rules. — It  is  a  very  common  thing 
for  teachers  to  embarrass  themselves  by  a  long  code  of 
requirements  and  prohibitions.  Some  go  so  far  as  to 
write  out  a  system  of  laws,  and,  annexing  to  each  the 
penalty  for  its  infringement,  post  them  up  in  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  the  schoolroom.  Others  content  themselves 
with  a  verbal  announcement  of  them,  and  rely  upon  the 
memories  of  the  pupils  to  retain  the  details  of  them  and 
to  govern  themselves  accordingly.  This,  it  seems  to  me, 
is  a  great  mistake.  The  multiplicity  of  specific  rules  for 
the  government  of  a  school  will  naturally  lead  to  a  multi- 
plicity of  offences.  Children  will  be  confused  by  the 
varying  and  sometimes  conflicting  demands  of  a  formid- 
able code  of  regulations,  and  in  endeavoring  to  avoid 
Scylla  will  be  likely  to  fall  into  Charybdis. 

The  World  has  been  Governed  too  Much. — It  is  be- 
lieved by  some  honest  statesmen  that  "the  world  has 
been  governed  too  much  ;  "  and  it  is  often  alleged  in 
support  of  this  belief  that  successful  compliance  with 
the  laws  requires  far  more  wisdom  than  was  displayed 
in  making  them;  that  is,  the  science  of  obedience  is  far 
more  abstruse  than  the  science  of  legislation  !  Whether 
this  be  true  in  the  civil  world  or  not,  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  decide ;  I  will  only  say  that  such  has  too  often  been 
the  fact  in  the  schoolroom. 

Do  Right. — It  is  in  my  opinion  the  part  of  wisdom, 
and  I  think  also  the  teaching  of  experience,  that  it  is  best 
to  make  but  few  rules.  The  great  rule  of  duty,  quoted 
once  before,  "  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  they 
should  do  to  you,"  comprises  quite  enough  to  begin  with. 


UN       THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

The  direction — Do  RIGHT,  is  a  very  comprehensive  one. 
There  is  in  children   an  ability    to  distinguish    between 
right  and  wrong,  upon  which  the  teacher  may  ever  rely: 
and  by  insisting  upon  this  as  the  standard,  he  daily  brings 
into  exercise  the  conscience  of  the  child,  who  is  called 
upon  to  decide,  is  this  right  ?     Besides,  if  a  school  is  to 
be  governed  by  a  code  of  laws,  the  pupils  will  act  upon 
the  principle  that  whatever  is  not  prescribed  is  admissible. 
Consequently,  without  inquiring  whether  an  act  is  right, 
their   only   inquiry  will   be,    is  it  forbidden  f     Now   no 
teacher  was  ever  yet  so  wise  as  to  make  laws  for  every 
case;  the  consequence  is,  he  is  daily  perplexed  with  un- 
foreseen troubles,  or  with  some  ingenious  evasions  of  his 
inflexible  code.     In  all  this  matter  the  worst  feature  is 
the  fact  that  the  child  judges  of  his  acts  by  the  laiv  of 
the  teacher  rather  than  by  the  law  of  his  conscience ,  and  Is 
thus  in  danger  of  perverting  and  blunting  the  moral  sense. 
Embarrassment  in  Executing  Laws. — To  this  it  may 
be  added  that  the  teacher  will  often  find  himself  very 
much  perplexed  in  attempting  to  judge  the  acts  of  his 
pupils  by  fixed  laws,  and  in  awarding  to  all  violations  of 
them  a  prescribed  penalty.     Cases  will  frequently  occur 
in  which  two  scholars  will  offend  against   a  given  pro- 
hibition,  with   altogether   different   intentions — the  one 
having  a  good  motive  and  forgetting  the  law  ;  the  other, 
with  the  law  in  his  mind  and  having   a  wicked  design  to 
violate   it.     Now   the   written    code,  with  its  prescribed 
penalty  allows  the  teacher  no  discretion.     He  must  main- 
tain his  law  and  punish  both  offenders,  and  ihus  violate 
his  own  sense  of  justice;  or   he   must  pass  both  by,  and 
thus  violate  his  word.     He   cannot    excuse   the  one  and 
punish  the   other,  as  justice    would    evidently  demand, 
without  setting  at  naught  his  own  laws. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  149 

A  Dilemma. — An    example  will  illustrate  this  point. 
A  teacher  has  made  a  rule  that  "  any  child  who  whispers 
without  leave  shall  be  feruled"     Now  two  little  boys  sit 
side  by  side.     William  is   an  amiable,  obedient,  and  dili 
gent 'little  boy,  who  has  never  violated  intentionally  any 
wish   of  his  teacher ;  while   Charles  is  a  sour-tempered, 
vicious,  unprincipled    fellow,   who   a  dozen  times  within 
a  week  has  sought  to  make   his  teacher  trouble.     Little 
John,  who  sits  near   to  William,  drops  his  pencil,  and  it 
falls  under   William's   desk.     John   looks  for  his  pencil 
on  the  right  and  left  of  his  seat,  grows  anxious  and  per- 
plexed.    William    has    noticed    him,    and    he  carefully 
picks  up  the  pencil,  while  he  perhaps  is   looking  for  it  in 
another   direction,   and,    with   the  kind  intention  of  re- 
lieving his  neighbor's  anxiety  and  restoring  his  property, 
he  touches  his  elbow  and  softly  whispers,  "  Here  is  your 
pencil,    John," — then    immediately     resumes    his     own 
studies,  and  is  probably  entirely  unconscious  that  he  has 
violated  any  law.     At  the  same  instant  the  artful  Charles, 
half  concealing  his   face  with  his   hand,  with  his  wary 
eye   turned    to   the   teacher,    wilfully   addresses  another 
pupil  on  some  point  in    no  way  connected  with  study  or 
duty.     The   teacher   sees  both  these  cases,  and  calls  the 
offenders  to  his  desk.     The   one   trembles,  and  wonders 
what  he  has  done  amiss,  while  the  other,  perhaps,  pre- 
pares himself  to  deny  his  offence,  and  thus  to  add  false- 
hood to  his   other   sins.     The   rule  awards  to  both  the 
fertile.     It  is  applied  to  Charles   with  energy,  and    with 
the  conviction  that  he  deserves  it  ;  but,  I  ask,  can  a  man 
with  any  sense  of  justice  raise  his  hand  to  punish   Wil- 
liam ?     If  so,  I  see  not  how  he  can  ever  again  hold  con- 
verse with  his  own  conscience.     Yet  the  rule  allows  him 
no  discretion.     He  must  violate    either   the    rule   or  his 


150  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

conscience  ;  and  too  often,  in  such  cases,  he  chooses  the 
latter  alternative. 

Hint  for  Young  Teachers. — Now.  my  advice  is,  make 
but  few  rtiles,  and  never  multiply  them  till  circumstances 
demand  it.  The  rule  of  right  will  usually  be  sufficient 
without  any  special  legislation  ;  and  it  has  this  advan- 
tage, that  it  leaves  the  teacher  the  largest  discretion. 

I  have  been  thus  full  on  this  point  because  so  many  fail 
here,  and  especially  young  teachers.  It  has  cost  many  a 
young  teacher  much  bitter  experience  to  make  this  dis- 
covery for  himself,  and  I  have  desired  to  save  others  who 
may  hereafter  engage  in  teaching  the  pain  and  perplexity 
which  they  may  so  easily  and  so  safely  avoid. 

Threatening. — For  similar  reasons,  I  should  also  urge 
that  the  teacher  should  avoid  the  too  common  practice 
of  threatening  in  his  school.  Threatening  is  usually  re- 
sorted to  as  a  means  of  frightening  children  into  their 
duty, — and,  too  often,  threats  are  made  without  any 
expectation  of  a  speedy  necessity  either  to  execute  or 
disregard  them.  The  consequence  is,  they  are  usually 
more  extravagant  than  the  reality,  and  the  teacher's  word 
soon  passes  at  a  discount ;  his  threats  are  viewed  as  very 
much  like  the  barking  of  a  dog  who  has  no  intention  to 
bite.  As  threatening  is  moreover  the  language  of  impa- 
tience, it  almost  always  leads  to  a  loss  of  respect. 

V.  Wake  Up  Mind  in  the  School,  and  in  the  Dis- 
trict.—There  is  usually  but  very  little  trouble  in  govern- 
ment where  the  scholars  are  deeply  engaged  in  their 
studies  or  school  exercises,  and  especially  if  at  the  same 
time  the  feelings  of  the*  parents  are  enlisted.  To  this 
end  I  would  recommend  that  early  attention  should  be 
given  to  some  efforts  to  wake  up  mind,  such  as  have  been 
described  in  a  former  section  of  this  work.  It  will  be 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  151 

found,  when  skillfully  conducted,  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful instrumentalities  in  aid  of  good  order  and  good 
feeling  in  the  school. 

Varieties  in  School. — An  ingenious  teacher,  too,  may 
introduce  other  varieties  into  the  school  exercises,  and 
thus  sometimes  turn  the  attention  of  discontented  pupils 
from  some  evil  design  to  give  him  trouble.  So  long  as 
the  teacher  keeps  steadily  the  main  object  of  his  school 
in  view,  namely,  progress  in  the  studies,  he  is  excusable 
if  occasionally,  to  break  up  monotony  and  excite  a 
deeper  interest,  he  introduces  a  well-considered  new  plan 
of  study  or  of  recitation.  Indeed,  much  of  his  success 
will  depend  upon  his  power  to  do  this,  and  in  nothing 
will  its  advantages  appear  more  obviously  than  in  the 
government  of  the  school.  A  great  portion  of  the  dis- 
order and  insubordination  in  our  schools  has  its  origin  in 
a  want  of  interest  in  the  school  exercises.  He  is  the  suc- 
cessful teacher,  and  the  successful  disciplinarian,  who  can 
excite  and  maintain  the  necessary  interest. 

Vocal  Music. — As  one  of  these  varieties,  I  may  men- 
tion the  exercise  of  vocal  music  in  school.  I  have  already 
alluded  to  it.  As  a  means  of  keeping  alive  the  interest 
in  a  school,  it  is  very  important.  Music  is  the  language 
of  the  heart,  and  though  capable  of  being  grossly  per- 
verted (and  what  gift  of  God  is  not?) — its  natural  ten- 
dency is  to  elevate  the  affections,  to  soothe  the  passions, 
and  to  refine  the  taste. 

German  Proverb — Music  in  Heaven. — "  The  Germans 
have  a  proverb,"  says  Bishop  Potter,  "  which  has  come 
down  from  the  days  of  Luther,  that  where  music  is  not, 
the  devil  enters.  As  David  took  his  harp  when  he  would 
cause  the  evil  spirit  to  depart  from  Saul,  so  the  Germans 
employ  it  to  expel  the  obduracy  from  the  hearts  of  the 


152  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

depraved,  In  their  schools  for  the  reformation  of  juve- 
nile offenders  (and  the  same  remark  might  be  applied  to 
those  of  our  own  country),  music  has  been  found  one  of 
the  most  effectual  means  of  inducing  docility  among  the 
stubborn  and  vicious.  It  would  seem  that  so  long  as  any 
remains  of  humanity  linger  in  the  heart,  it  retains  its  sus- 
ceptibility to  music.  And  as  proo>  that  music  is  more 
powerful  for  good  than  for  evil,  is  it  not  worthy  of  pro- 
found consideration  that,  in  all  the  intimations  which  the 
Bible  gives  us  of  a  future  world,  music  is  associated  only 
with  the  employments  and  happiness  of  Heaven?" 

Music  May  be  Easily  Introduced  in  Schools. — 
Almost  any  teacher  can  introduce  music  into  his  school; 
because  if  he  cannot  sing,  he  will  always  find  that  it  will 
only  require  a  little  encouragement  to  induce  the  scholars 
to  undertake  to  conduct  it  themselves,  It  will  consume 
but  very  little  time,  and  it  is  al.ways  that  time  which,  if 
not  employed  in  singing,  would  otherwise  be  unemployed 
or  misemployed.  It  is  the  united  testimony  of  all  who 
have  judiciously  introduced  singing  into  their  schools, 
that  it  is  among  the  best  instrumentalities  for  the  promo- 
tion of  good  feeling  and  good  order. 

VI.  Visit  the  Parents  of  Your  Scholars.— I  shall 
more  particularly  enjoin  this  when  I  speak  of  the 
teacher 's  relation  to  his  patrons  [chap,  xi.]  :  but  I  can- 
not forbear  in  this  place  to  urge  k  upon  the  teacher 
as  one  of  the  means  of  securing  good  order  in  school, 
A  great  deal  of  the  insubordination  in  our  schools 
arises  from  some  misunderstanding,  or  some  dislike 
entertained  by  the  parent  towards  the  teacher,  and 
spoken  of  in  the  presence  of  the  children.  Whatever  the 
pupils  hear  at  home,  they  will  be  likely  to  exemplify 
in  school.  It  should  be  the  teacher's  first  object  to 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  153 

become  acquainted  with  the  parent,  and  to  let  him  un- 
derstand, by  a  personal  interview,  all  his  plans  and 
aims* for  the  improvement  of  the  school.  This  can  be 
done  best  at  the  parent's  own  fireside.  It  has  often 
happened  that,  by  a  friendly  visit  of  an  hour  by  the 
teacher,  the  parent's  heart  has  been  softened,  his 
prejudices  removed,  his  co-operation  gained,  and  the 
cheerful  and  cordial  obedience  of  his  children  in  school 
secured. 

Reasons  Why. — These  visits  should,  of  course,  be 
made  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  teacher.  They  should  be 
made  in  the  honest  desire  of  his  heart  to  render  his  labors 
more  successful.  A  visit  made  in  such  a  spirit  seldom 
fails  to  make  the  parents  personal  friends  ever  after ;  and 
of  course,  in  case  of  a  collision  afterwards  between  him 
and  their  children,  this  is  a  very  important  point. 

VII.  Registers  of  Credits. — Registers  of  the  stand- 
ing of  pupils  in  their  schools  and  their  classes  are 
very  highly  recommended  by  some  whose  experience 
is  entitled  to  confidence.  I  am  inclined  to  place  this 
among  the  means  of  securing  good  order.  I  would 
recommend,  however,  that  they  should  be  registers  of 
credits  on\y.  Some  recommend  the  use  of  "  black-marks ,•" 
that  is,  the  record  of  prominent  faults  and  perhaps  of 
punishments.  My  own  experience  teaches  me  that  this  is 
unwise.  The  teacher  should  not  show  a  willingness  to 
record  and  publish  the  faults  of  a  pupil.  He  should,  on 
the  contrary,  show  a  tender  regard  for  his  reputation. 
Besides,  the  child  is  less  likely  to  be  mindful  of  his  duty 
when  his  reputation  is  already  blackened  by  his  teacher. 
If  registers  are  to  be  kept  at  all,  they  should  record  the 
successes  and  virtues  of  the  child  rather  than  his  failures 
and  faults.  And  if,  at  the  end  of  a  week  or  a  month,  he 


154  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

is  furnished  with  an  abstract  for  the  inspection  of  his 
parents,  let  it  be  so  much  of  good  character  as  he  has 
earned  for  himself  during  the  specified  time. 

I  confess  I  am  less  sanguine  than  many  others  as  to 
the  utility  of  the  register,  either  as  an  incentive  to 
obedience  or  diligence;  but  if  used  at  all,  I  think  the 
above  restriction  is  highly  important. 

VIII.  Avoid  Governing  too  Much. — By  this  I  would 
be  understood  to  urge  upon  the  teacher  the  fact  that  his 
main  business  in  school  is  instruction  and  not  government. 
Government  is  a  means,  and  not  the  end,  of  school-keep- 
ing. A  very  judicious  and  practical  teacher — Mr.  R.  S. 
Howard — has  well  remarked:  "The  real  object  to 
be  accomplished,  the  real  end  to  be  obtained  in 
school,  is  to  assist  the  pupil  in  acquiring  knowledge — 
to  educate  the  mind  and  heart.  To  effect  this,  good 
order  is  very  necessary.  But  when  order  is  made  to 
take  the  place  of  industry,  and  discipline  the  place  of 
instruction,  where  the  time  of  both  teacher  and  pupils  is 
mostly  spent  in  watching  each  other,  very  little  good  will 
be  accomplished." 

Government  not  the  Chief  Business  of  the  Teacher. 
—It  is  a  mistake  that  many  teachers  fall  into,  that  they 
seem  to  regard  government  as  their  chief  occupation  ;  and, 
as  we  should  naturally  expect  in  such  cases,  it  is  often 
very  poorly  exercised.  That  is  not  the  best  government 
which  is  maintained  as  a  matter  of  formal  business.  The 
noiseless  under-current  is  far  more  efficient.  I  have 
always  noticed  that  men  govern  best  when  they  do  not 
seem  to  govern;  and  those  who  make  most  effort  and 
bustle  about  it  themselves  are  pretty  sure  to  have  the 
most  boisterous  schools. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  155 

"Order,  There  !" — I  once  in  company  with  a  friend 
officially  visited  a  school  where  the  teacher,  a  man  of 
strong  frame — six  feet  high,  and  with  lungs  in  proportion, 
was  laboring to  keep  order.  Every  word  he  uttered  was 
in  a  stentorian  voice,  which  would  have  been  painful  to 
the  pupils  in  a  quiet  room  ;  hence,  they  took  care  to  keep 
up  a  constant  clattering  of  books,  slates,  and  rulers, 
mingled  with  the  constant  hum  of  their  own  voices,  as  if 
for  self-defence.  It  seemed  to  be  a  mighty  effort  of  each 
party  to  rise  if  possible  above  the  noise  of  the  other. 
"  Silence  !  Order  !  I  say,"  was  constantly  ejaculated  in  a 
voice  that  was  almost  sufficient,  as  Shakspeare's  Hamlet 
would  say,  to  "  split  the  ears  of  the  groundlings." 

Parsing — A  Scene. — One  of  the  most  ludicrous  scenes 
I  ever  witnessed  occurred  in  this  school  during  an  exer- 
cise in  English  grammar.  The  class  occupied  the  back 
seats,  while  the  teacher  stood  by  the  desk  in  front  of 
the  school.  The  children  between  the  teacher  and  his 
class  were  variously  employed,  —  some  manufacturing 
paper  fly-boxes,  some  whittling  the  benches — (it  was  in 
New  England);  some  were  trying  their  skill  at  a  spit-ball 
warfare  ;  others  were  making  voyages  of  exploration  be- 
neath the  seats.  The  school,  consisting  of  some  seventy 
pupils,  were  as  busy  as  the  occupants  of  an  ant-hill.  The 
sentence  to  be  parsed  was,  "A  good  boy  loves  study." 
No  written  description  can  present  the  scene  as  it  was 
acted  in  real  life. 

A  Dialogue— "The  Rule,  Sir!"— It  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  every  word  spoken  by  the  teacher,  whether 
to  the  class  or  to  the  school,  was  in  a  tone  of  voice  which 
might  have  been  heard  at  least  an  eighth  of  a  mile,  and 
that  every  exclamation  was  accompanied  by  several  ener- 
getic thumps  Q{  a  large  oaken  "  rule  "  upon  the  lid  of  his 


156  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

desk.  The  language  of  the  teacher  is  in  italics  :  "  Mary, 
parse  A."  "  A  is  an  indefinite" — "Silence!  Order, 
t/u-re  /"—"article,  and  is  prefixed  to"—"  John  /"— "  No, 
sir,  it  is  prefixed  to" — "  Martha,  Martha!  sit  up  M — "  it  is 
prefixed  to — boy." — Right." — "  Good,  next" — "  Good  is 
an  adjective," — "  Order,  Order,  Order/" — thump,  thump, 
thump !  " — "  Go  on,  go  on,  I  hear  you!" — thump  thump  !— 
"  and  belongs  to" — "  Speak  louder!  Sit  up  there  !  What 
are  you  doing  f  And  belongs  to?" — "boy." — "  The  Rule. 
The  RULE!  I  say"  Here  several  children  looked  earn- 
estly at  the  piece  of  cimber  he  held  in  his  hand.  "  The 
rule,  sir,  the  rule  !" — thump,  thump  ! — "  You've  got  it  in 
your  hand,"  vociferated  a  little  harmless-looking  fellow  on 
the  front  seat,  while  the  scholar  proceeded  to  recite  the 
rule. — "  Adjectives  belong  to'' — '•  Lazy,  lazy  fellow!  sit 
up,  there" — Here  the  class  smiled,  and  the  scholar  com- 
pleted his  rule,  asserting,  however,  that  "  adjectives  be- 
long to  nouns,"  and  not  to  "  lazy  fellows"  as  the  class 
seemed  to  understand  the  master  to  teach.  Word  after 
word  was  parsed  in  this  way  (a  way  of  teaching  our  lan- 
guage which,  if  we  could  know  it  had  been  practiced  at 
the  erection  ot  Babel,  would  sufficiently  account  for  that 
memorable  confusion  of  tongues  without  the  interven- 
tion of  a  miracle),  till  the  teacher,  nearly  exhausted  by 
this  strange  combination  of  mental,  oral,  and  manual 
labor,  very  much  to  the  relief  of  all,  vociferated  "  That'll 
do!'  and  the  scene  was  changed.  At  the  close  of  the 
afternoon,  we  were  told  that  "  it  was  a  very  hard  school, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  keep  order,  and  that  he  should 
be  discouraged  were  it  not  that  he  saw  a  manifest  im- 
provement within  a  few  days  past !'' 

Who  Made  It  ? — Now  this  teacher  made  the  school 
what  it  was  by  his  own   manner.     He  would  have  done 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT,  157 

the  same  in  any  school.  He  taught  in  the  most  effectual 
way  the  science  and  art  of  confusion  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  hard  name  he  gave  his  school,  he  was  emphatic- 
ally the  most  disorderly  and  noisy  member  of  it. 

Another  Visit — A  New  Teacher. — There  was  a 
change.  On  another  day,  accompanied  by  the  same  friend, 
we  presented  ourselves  at  the  door  of  this  same  room  for 
admittance.  We  heard  no  sound  as  we  approached  the 
entrance,  and  almost  began  to  suspect  we  should  find  there 
was  no  school  within.  We  knocked  ;  and  presently,  with- 
out our  hearing  the  footstep  of  the  person  who  approached, 
the  door  opened  and  we  passed  in.  The  children 
looked  up  a  moment  as  we  entered,  and  then  bent  their 
eyes  upon  their  lessons.  The  teacher  softly  handed  us 
seats,  and  then  proceeded  with  the  recitation.  His 
manner  was  quiet  and  deliberate,  and  the  school  was 
orderly  and  busy.  He  had  no  rule  in  his  hand,  no 
heavy  boots  on  his  feet  (he  had  exchanged  them  for 
slippers  on  entering  the  school),  and  no  other  means  of 
giving  emphasis  to  his  words.  He  kindly  requested — 
never  commanded — and  everything  seemed  to  present 
the  strongest  contrast  with  the  former  scene.  The  hour 
of  dismission  arrived,  and  the  scholars  quietly  laid  by 
their  books,  and  as  quietly  walked  out  of  the  house,  and 
all  was  still. 

Good  Order. — "  How  have  you  secured  this  good 
order?"  said  we  to  the  teacher.  "  I  really  do  not  know," 
said  he,  with  a  smile ;  "  I  have  said  nothing  about 
order."  "  But  have  you  had  no  difficulty  from  noisy 
scholars?"  "  A  little  at  first ;  but  in  a  day  or  two  they 
seemed  to  become  quiet,  and  we  have- not  been  troubled 
since." 


TI1KOKY   AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

The  Secret. — Now  the  secret  was  that  this  latter 
teacher  had  learned  to  govern  himself.  His  own  man- 
ner gave  character  to  the  school.  So  it  will  ever  be.  A 
man  will  govern  more  by  his  manner  than  in  any  other 
way 

Excessive  Silence. — There  is,  too,  such  a  thing  as 
keeping  a  school  too  still  by  over-government.  A  man 
of  firm  nerve  can,  by  keeping  up  a  con  tant  constraint 
both  in  himself  and  pupils,  force  a  deathlike  silence 
upon  his  school.  You  may  hear  a  pin  drop  at  any 
time,  and  the  figure  of  every  child  is  as  if  moulded  in 
cast  iron.  But,  be  it  remembered,  this  is  the  stillness 
of  constraint,  not  the  stillness  of  activity.  It  is  an  un- 
healthy state  both  of  body  and  mind,  and  when  attained 
by  the  most  vigilant  care  of  the  teacher  is  a  condition 
scarcely  to  be  desired.  There  should  .be  silence  in 
school,  a  serene  and  soothing  quiet;  but  it  should,  if 
possible,  be  the  quiet  of  cheerfulness  and  agreeable  devo- 
tion to  study  rather  than  the  "  palsy  of  fear." 

Recapitulation. — Thus  far  I  have  confined  myself  to 
those  qualifications  in  the  teacher,  and  to  those  means 
which,  under  ordinary  circumstances  and  in  most  dis- 
tricts, would,  in  my  opinion,  secure  good  order  in  our 
schools.  With  the  qualifications  I  have  described  in  the 
mental  and  moral  condition  of  the  teacher,  and  the 
means  and  suggestions  above  detailed  — combined,  I  be- 
lieve a  very  large  majority  of  our  schools  could  be  most 
successfully  governed  without  any  appeal  to  fear  or 
force. 

Force  Sometimes  Needful. — But  as  some  schools  are 
yet  in  a  very  bad  state,  requiring  more  than  ordinary 
talents  and  skill  to  control  them,  and  as  very  many  of 
those  who  must  teach  for  a  long  time  to  come  have  not, 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  159 

and  cannot  be  expected  to  have,  all  the  qualifications 
described,  and  much  less  the  moral  power  insisted  on,  it 
is  unreasonable  to  expect,  taking  human  nature  as  it  is, 
and  our  teachers  as  they  are,  that  all  can  govern  their 
schools  without  some  appeals  to  the  lower  motives  of 
children,  and  some  resort  to  coercion  as  an  instrumen- 
tality. I  should  leave  this  discussion  very  incomplete, 
therefore,  were  I  not  to  present  my  views  upon  the  sub- 
ject of 

SECTION   III.      PUNISHMENTS. 

Punishment  Defined. — As  a  great  deal  has  been  writ- 
ten and  spoken  on  the  subject  of  school  punishments,  I 
deem  it  important  that  the  term,  as  I  intend  to  use  it, 
should  be  defined  at  the  outset.  I  submit  the  following 
definition  : 

PUNISHMENT  is  PAIN   INFLICTED   UPON  THE  MIND 

OR  BODY  OF  AN  INDIVIDUAL  BY  THE  AUTHORITY  TO 
WHICH  HE  IS  SUBJECT  ;  WITH  A  VIEW  EITHER  TO  RE- 
FORM HIM,  OR  TO  DETER  OTHERS  FROM  THE  COMMIS- 
SION OF  OFFENCES,  OR  BOTH. 

Comments  on  Definition. — It  is  deemed  essential  to 
the  idea  of  punishment  that  the  inflictor  have  legitimate 
authority  over  the  subject  of  it — otherwise  the  act  is  an 
act  of  usurpation.  It  is  also  essential  that  the  inflictor 
should  have  a  legitimate  object  in  view,  such  as  the  ref- 
ormation of  the  individual  or  of  the  community  in  which 
his  example  has  exerted  an  influence — otherwise  the  act 
becomes  an  abuse  of  power.  Infliction  for  the  purpose 
of  retaliation,  for  an  insult  or  injury,  is  not  punishment ; 
it  is  revenge.  Whenever,  therefore,  a  teacher  resorts  to 
such  infliction  to  gratify  his  temper,  or  to  pay  off,  as  it  is 
expressed  in  common  language,  the  bad  conduct  of  a 
pupil  without  any  regard  to  his  reformation  or  the  pre- 


160  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

vention  of  similar  offences  in  the  school,  the  pain  he  in- 
flicts is  not  punishment;  it  is  cruelty.  Very  great 
importance  is  to  be  attached  to  the  motive  in  this 
matter  ;  because  the  same  infliction  upon  the  same  indi- 
vidual, and  for  the  same  offence,  may  either  be  just  and 
proper  punishment,  or  it  may  be  the  most  unjustifiable 
and  revengeful  abuse,  according  to  the  motive  of  the 
inflictor. 

Whence  Authority  is  Derived. — The  authority  to 
inflict  punishment  in  general  is  either  by  the  constitution 
of  God  or  of  civil  society.  "  The  punishment  of  the 
faults  and  offences  of  children  by  the  parent,  says  Dr. 
Webster,  "  is  by  virtue  of  the  right  of  government  with 
which  the  parent  is  invested  by  God  himself."  The 
right  to  punish  the  offences  of  children  while  at  school 
is,  by  the  common  law,  vested  in  the  teacher  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  tfie  parent  for  the  time  being.  It  is  the 
declaration  of  this  law,  as  interpreted  from  time  imme- 
morial, that  the  teacher  is  in  loco  parcntis — in  place  of 
the  parent. 

A  Common  Error. — Some  have  alleged  that  fear  and 
shame,  the  two  principles  addressed  by  punishment,  are 
among  the  lowest  in  our  nature  ;  and  have  hence  endeav- 
ored to  show  that  punishment  is  always  inexpedient,  if 
not,  indeed,  always  wrong.  To  this  I  answer,  that  both 
fear  and  shame  are  incorporated  in  our  nature  by  God 
Himsdf  ;  and  hence  I  infer  they  are  there  for  a  wise  pur- 
pose. I  fin  \,  moreover,  that  God  Himself,  in  His  Word 
and  in  His  Providence,  does  appeal  to  both  of  these  prin- 
ciples ;  and  hence  I  infer  that  punishment  in  the  abstract 
is  not  wrong,  and,  after  the  higher  motives  have  been  ad- 
dressed, not  altogether  inexpedient. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  161 

The  Right  Assumed.— Living  in  a  community,  as  we 
do,  where  the  right  of  punishment  in  general  is  assumed 
by  our  government,  and  the  right  of  teachers  to  punish 
is  conceded  by  our  laws,  I  do  not  feel  called  upon  to 
establish  the  right  by  argument ;  I  shall  assume  that  the 
teacher  has  the  right  to  punish  in  the  sense  in  which  I 
have  defined  punishment,  and  shall,  therefore,  proceed  to 
consider  the  various  kinds  of  punishments  used  in  our 
schools,  and  to  distinguish  those  which  are  justifiable 
from  those  which  are  not  ;  and  also  to  consider  some  of 
the  conditions  and  limitations  of  their  use. 

Plan  of  Discussion. — It  preparing  the  way  to  do  this 
I  may  remark  that  punishments  consist  of  two  classes : 
I.  Those  which  address  themselves  directly  to  the  mind; 
as,  privation  from  privileges,  loss  of  liberty,  degradation, 
some  act  of  humiliation,  reproof,  and  the  like.  2.  Those 
which  address  the  mind  through  the  body  ;  as,  the  im- 
position of  a  task — labor  for  instance — requiring  the 
pupil  to  take  some  painful  attitude,  inflicting  bodily 
chastisement,  etc. 

Two  Classes. — I  have  mentioned  these  two  classes 
for  the  purpose  of  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  those  who  approve  of  the  first  class,  and  at  the  same 
time  denounce  the  second,  scouting  the  idea  of  reaching 
the  mind  through  the  senses  of  the  body.  This  seems 
to  me,  however,  to  indicate  a  want  of  attention  to  the 
laws  of  our  being  ;  for  in  the  economy  of  nature,  we  are 
made  at  every  point  sensitive  to  pain  as  a  means  of 
guarding  against  injury.  Why  has  the  Creator  studded 
the  entire  surface  of  our  bodies  with  the  extremities  of 
nerves,  whose  function  is  to  carry  to  the  brain  with 
lightning  speed  the  intelligence  of  the  approach  of 
danger  ?  And  why  should  this  intelligence  be  trans- 


162  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

mitted,  if  its  object  is  not  to  influence  the  will,  either 
to  withdraw  the  suffering  part  from  immediate  danger, 
or  to  avoid  those  objects  which  cause  the  pain  ? 

Mind  May  be  Reached  through  the  Body. — The 
mind,  then,  by  the  economy  ot  nature,  or  rather  by  the 
arrangement  of  God,  is  capable  of  being  influenced 
through  the  bodily  sensations;  and  those  who  deny  this, 
either  do  not  observe  attentively,  or,  observing,  do  not 
reason  fairly  as  to  the  laws  of  our  being.  With  these 
preliminary  observations,  I  now  proceed  to  consider 

I.    Improper  Punishments. 

Some  punishments  are  always  wrong,  or  at 
least  always  inexpedient.  The  infliction  of  them 
either  implies  a  wrong  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher,  or  it  promises  no  wholesome 
result  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  I  shall  mention  in  detail: 

i.  Those  that  from  their  Nature  Excite  the  Feel- 
ing in  the  Pupil  that  an  Indignity  has  been  Com- 
mitted against  His  Person.  No  man  is  ready  to 
forgive  another  for  wringing  his  nose.  There  is  almost 
a  universal  sentiment  that  this  organ  is  specially  exempted 
from  such  insult.  Nearly  the  same  feeling  exists  as 
to  pinching  or  pulling  the  ear,  or  twisting  the  hair,  or 
snapping  the  forehead.  Each  child  feels  that  these  parts 
of  his  person  are  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and  the  feeling 
is  natural  and  proper.  Now,  though  it  is  not  common 
tor  teachers  to  wring  the  noses  ot  their  pupils,  it  is  very 
common  for  them  to  do  each  of  the  other  things  enum- 
erated. I  have  often  seen  such  punishments,  but  I 
think  I  never  saw  any  good  come  of  them.  The  pupil 
always  looked  as  it  the  teacher  had  done  despite  tow- 
ard his  person.  Whenever  I  have  seen  the  teacher  twist 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  163 

the  locks  of  a  child's  hair  about  his  finger  till  the 
teais  would  start  in  the  eye,  I  have  supposed  the  feelings 
called  forth  were  anything  but  desirable, — anything 
but  favorable  to  reformation.  A  pupil  must  love  his 
teacher  very  strongly  to  be  able  to  keep  his  temper 
from  rising  under  such  circumstances;  and  there  is  great 
doubt  whether  either  of  these  punishments  does  any- 
thing to  secure  cheerful  obedience  in  the  child  one 
time  in  a  hundred  ;  probably  in  ninety-nine  cases  in  the 
hundred  the  evil  passions  are  very  much  strengthened 
by  them.  Besides,  these  are  undignified  modes  of  pun- 
ishment. They  savor  so  much  of  a  weak  and  childish 
impatience  that  the  pupils  find  it  hard  to  respect  a  man, 
much  more  to  love  him,  who  will  stoop  to  so  small  a 
way  of  giving  vent  to  his  angry  feelings.  Snapping  the. 
forehead  is  subject  to  strong  physiological  objections ; 
and,  as  a  general  rule,  the  head  and  its  appurtenances 
should  be  exempted  from  penal  violence. 

Scolding. — In  this  place  I  may  very  properly  allude  to 
another  mode  of  assailing  the  ears  of  children,  quite  as 
undignified  in  itself  and  quite  as  unprofitable  in  its  re- 
sults as  pulling  them, — and  until  they  are  hardened  to 
it  by  familiarity,  probably  more  painful.  I  refer,  I  need 
not  say,  to  scolding.  This  is  a  punishment  altogether  too 
common.  There  is  a  physiological  law  that  the  exercise 
of  any  organ  will  give  it  greater  strength  and  generally 
greater  celerity.  From  this  fact,  and  the  additional  one 
that  the  more  a  child  is  scolded  the  harder  his  heart  be- 
comes, so  that  here,  as  in  the  Rule  of  Three,  "  more  re- 
quires more,"  it  follows  that  those  who  once  begin  to 
scold  are  fortunate  if  they  stop  short  of  high  attainments 
in  the  art. 


164  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Poor  Investment  — There  is  no  enterprise  in  which 
the  investment  yields  so  small  a  profit  as  in  the  business 
of  scolding.  It  is  really  pitiable  to  witness  the  teacher 
given  to  this  practice,  making  himself  and  all  around 
him  unhappy,  without  the  hope  of  alleviation.  The 
command  of  the  tongue  is  a  great  virtue  in  a  teacher; 
and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  very  many  children  still  suffer 
in  their  moral  feelings  l  as  well  as  their  ears,  because  so 
many  teachers  do  not  seasonably  learn  the  right  control 
of  the  "  unruly  member." 

Cockney  Blackguardism. — While  upon  this  subject,  I 
may  allude  to  another  very  objectionable  mode  of  address 
practised  by  some  teachers  toward  their  schools.  I  refer 
to  a  mixture  of  scolding  with  a  species  of  low  wit  or 
cockney  blackguardism,  that  should  ever  be  banished 
from  the  schoolroom.  Such  expressions  as,  "  Sit  down, 
John,  or  I'll  shiver  your  top-timbers" — "  Attend  to  your 
studies,  or  some  of  you  will  be  a  head  shorter" — "  Keep 
quiet,  or  you'll  hear  thunder," — and  the  like.  To  these  I 
might  add  those  empty  and  debasing  threats  which  are 
too  often  and  too  thoughtlessly  uttered  ;  as,  "  I'll  skin 
you  alive,"  or  "  I'll  shake  you  to  pieces,1'  or  "  I'll  use  you 
up," — with  others  of  the  same  character.  I  perhaps 
ought  to  beg  pardon  for  placing  these  vulgarisms  before 
the  general  reader  ;  but  they  are  so  frequently  employed 
in  our  schools — in  some  of  our  schools  of  good  repute, 
too — that  I  thought  it  to  be  my  duty  to  quote  them  (for 
they  are  all  literal  quotations),  in  order,  if  possible,  to  aid 
those  who  have  fallen  into  such  a  low  habit  to  see  them- 
selves as  others  see  them. 

i  A  blacksmith,  it  is  said,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  scold  his  family  quite 

too  freely,  was  one  day  attempting  to  harden  a  piece  of  steel  ;  but  failing  after 

two  or  three  attempts,  his  little  son,  who  had  been  an  observer  of  this  as  well 

••rations  of  his  father,  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "Scold  it,  father, 

tcold  it ;  it  that  won't  harden  it,  nothing  else  will." 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  165 

Mistake  About  It. — It  is  so  very  easy  for  a  teacher  to 
raise  a  laugh  among  his  pupils  that  he  is  in  danger  of  be- 
ing1 seduced  into  the  use  of  coarse  and  quaint  expressions 
by  the  supposition  that  they  are  witty.  But  the  mirth  of 
school  boys  is  not  a  more  reliable  criterion  of  wit  in  the 
modern  teacher  than  it  was  in  the  case  of  the  schoolmaster 
described  by  Goldsmith ;  and  possibly  the  exercise  of  a 
little  discernment  on  his  part  would  convince  him  that 
children  sometimes  laugh,  as  they  did  of  old,  because 
they  think  it  prudent  to  do  so. 

"  A  man  severe  ke  was  and  stern  to  view  ; 
I  knew  him  well,  and  every  truant  knew  ; 
Well  had  the  boding  tremblers  learned  to  trace 
The  day's  disasters  in  his  morning  fac« : 
Full  well  they  laughed,  with  counterfeited  glee ^ 
At  all  his  jokes,  for  many  a  joke  had  he  !" 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  there  are  schools  and 
many  such,  now  of  high  standing,  the  language  of  whose 
teachers,  could  it  be  noted  down  and  printed  for  the 
parents,  would  perfectly  astonish  them  ;  and  such  is  the 
force  of  habit,  it  would  very  likely  astonish  the  teachers 
themselves.  Let  all  who  mean  to  respect  themselves,  or 
who  desire  to  be  long  respected  by  others,  most  carefully 
avoid  the  first  approach  to  the  use  of  such  kind  of  lan- 
guage. Its  influence  in  school  is  "  only  evil,  and  that 
continually." 

2.  Those  Punishments  that  from  Their  Nature 
Imply  in  the  Inflictor  a  Love  of  Prolonged  Torture. — 
These  are  quite  numerous,  and  are  resorted  to  often  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  what  is  usually  deemed  severer 
punishment.  Some  of  them  also  have  very  serious  phys- 
iological objections.  As  an  instance,  I  may  mention  the 
holding  of  a  weight  at  arm's  length  until  the  muscles  of 
the  arm  become  painful  from  over-exertion  and  fatigue. 


166  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Sometimes  the  Bible,  being  the  largest  book  at  hand,  is 
chosen  as  the  weight ;  and  thus  that  Book,  which  should 
have  no  associations  connected  with  it  in  the  minds  of 
the  young  but  those  of  reverence  and  love,  is  made  the 
instrument  of  torture — the  minister  of  cruelty  ! 

The  Bible  at  Arm's  Length. — Imagine  that  you  see 
— what  I  have  seen — an  offending  boy  called  to  the 
teacher's  desk,  and,  after  words  of  reproach,  sentenced 
to  hold  the  large  Bible  at  arm's  length  for  a  specified 
time,  or  until  the  teacher  is  willing  to  release  him.  At 
first  it  is  raised  with  a  smile  of  triumph,  almost  a  smile 
of  contempt.  Soon  the  muscles  thus  exerted  at  disad- 
vantage, begin  to  be  weary  and  to  relax.  "  Hold  it  up !" 
exclaims  the  vigilant  teacher,  and  it  is  again  brought  to 
its  position.  Sooner  than  before  the  muscles  are  fa- 
tigued, and  they  almost  refuse  to  obey  the  mandate  of 
the  will,  which  itself  is  half  willing  to  rebel  against 
authority  so  unreasonable.  "  Up  with  it !  "  —  again 
brings  it  to  its  place,  or  perhaps  a  stroke  of  the  ratan 
repeats  the  command  with  more  urgency.  At  this 
moment  every  nerve  sympathizes,  and  the  muscles  are 
urged  on  to  their  greatest  effort.  The  limb  is  in  agony 
— and  what  agony  can  surpass  that  of  an  overstrained 
muscle? — and  the  whole  system  reels  and  writhes  with 
suffering.  Now  lopk  into  that  child's  face,  and  tell  me 
what  is  the  moral  effect  of  this  sort  of  punishment? 
Unless  he  is  one  of  the  most  amiable  of  the  sons  of 
Adam,  he  inwardly  curses  the  cruelty  that  he  thinks  is 
delighted  with  pangs  like  these,  protracted  yet  intoler- 
able. He  almost  curses  the  Blessed  Book  which  was 
given  to  warm  his  soul  into  life  and  immortality.  He 
cries  with  pain,  but  not  with  penitence.  He  may  sub- 
mit, indeed,  and  he  may  abstain  from  similar  offences 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  167 

in  time  to  come;  but  it  is  the  submission  of  self-preserva- 
tion, and  the  abstinence  of  an  eye-servant, — while  the 
stain  that  has  thus  been  inwrought  in  his  moral  sensi- 
bilities may  long  remain  unexpunged.  Such  a  punish- 
ment I  unhesitatingly  pronounce  to  be  improper,  what- 
ever may  be  the  circumstances. 

Hold  a  Nail. — Akin  to  this  are  those  other  contriv- 
ances to  give  prolonged  pain,  which  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  have  taken  a  variety  of  forms  and  as  great 
a  variety  of  names.  One  of  these  has  been  termed 
"holding  a  nail  into  the  floor,"  It  consists  in  requiring 
the  pupil  to  bend  forward,  and  placing  the  end  of 
a  single  finger  upon  the  head  of  a  nail,  to  remain  in  that 
position  till  the  whole  system  is  agonized. 

Sitting  on  Nothing — Worse  than  Nothing: — Another 
has  by  some  of  its  inflictors  been  termed  "  sitting  on 
nothing."  The  pupil  is  required  to  place  his  back 
against  a  wall  of  the  room,  and  his  feet  perhaps  a  foot 
from  its  base,  and  then  to  slide  his  body  down  till  the 
knees  are  bent  at  right  angles,  and  his  person  is  in  a 
sitting  posture  without  a  seat !  The  muscles,  acting 
over  the  knee  at  the  greatest  disadvantage,  are  now 
made  to  support  the  body  in  that  position  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  teacher.  I  have  seen  another  mode  of 
punishment  practised,  and  as  I  have  heard  no  name 
for  it,  I  shall  give  it  the  cognomen  of  "  sitting  on  worse 
than  nothing."  The  boy  in  this  case  was  required  to 
sit  upon  the  floor,  and  then,  placing  the  feet  upon  a 
bench  or  chair,  to  support  the  body  in  an  erect  position 
by  reversed  action  of  the  muscles  ! 

But  I  gladly  turn  away  from  a  description  of  the  pun- 
ishments I  have  witnessed  in  the  common  schools  of  New 
England  within  a  quarter  of  a  century,  exhibiting  as  they 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

do  so  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  dark  ages.  Some 
of  these  I  have  witnessed  quite  recently ;  and  to  what 
extent  any  or  all  of  them  are  now  in  use,  I  am  unable  to 
say.  I  only  desire  to  say  that  they  are  all  improper — de- 
basing to  the  morals  of  the  pupils  and  degrading  to  the 
profession  of  the  teacher  ;  and  the  sooner  such  punish- 
ments are  entirely  banished  from  our  school-rooms,  the 
sooner  will  the  profession  of  the  teacher  rise  to  its  proper 
level. 

3.  Ridicule. — This  is  a  weapon  that  should  not  be 
wielded  as  a  school-punishment.  It  often  cuts  deeper 
than  he  who  uses  it  imagines,  and  it  usually  gives  most 
pain  where  it  is  least  merited.  Some  physical  defect,  or 
some  mental  incapacity,  or  eccentricity,  is  most  fre- 
quently made  the  subject  of  it ;  and  yet  nothing  can  be 
more  unfeeling  or  more  unjust  than  its  use  in  such  cases. 
If  the  designed  failings  of  the  indolent,  or  the  premedi- 
tated mischief  of  the  vicious,  could  be  subjected  to  its 
influence,  its  use  would  be  more  allowable  ;  but  even 
then  it  would  be  questionable.  But  the  indolent  and  the 
vicious  are  usually  unaffected  by  ridicule.  They  sin 
upon  calculation,  and  not  without  counting  the  cost ; 
and  they  are  therefore  very  willing  to  risk  their  reputa- 
tion where  they  have  so  little  to  lose.  It  is  the  modest, 
the  conscientious,  the  well-meaning  child  that  is  most 
affected  by  ridicule ;  yet  it  is  such  a  one  that,  for 
various  reasons,  is  oftenest  made  the  subject  of  it, 
though  of  all  others  his  feelings  should  be  most  tender- 
ly spared. 

Loss  of  Love  and  Confidence. — A  strong  objection 
to  the  use  of  ridicule  is  the  feeling  which  it  induces 
between  the  teacher  and  pupil.  The  teacher,  conscious 
that  he  has  Injured  the  feelings  of  the  child,  will  find  it 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  169 

hard  to  love  him  afterwards ;  for  we  seldom  love  those 
whom  we  have  injured.  The  child,  on  the  other  hand, 
loses  confidence  in  his  teacher;  he  feels  that  his  sensi- 
bilities have  been  outraged  before  his  companions,  and 
that  the  teacher,  who  should  be  his  best  friend  in  the 
school,  has  invited  the  heartless  laagh  of  his  fellow- 
pupils  against  him.  With  a  want  of  love  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  confidence  on  the  other,  what  further  use- 
fulness can  reasonably  be  expected  ? 

Schoolmates  Injured. — But  the  strongest  objection 
of  all  to  the  use  of  ridicule  is  the  fact  that  it  calls  forth 
the  worst  of  feelings  in  the  school.  Those  who  partici- 
pate in  the  laugh  thus  excited  are  under  the  influence  of 
no  very  amiable  motives.  And  when  this  is  carried  so 
far  as  to  invite,  by  direct  words,  some  expression  from 
the  school-mates,  by  pointing  the  finger  of  shame,  and 
perhaps  accompanying  the  act  by  a  hiss  of  scorn,  the 
most  deplorable  spirit  of  self-righteousness  is  cultivated. 

A  Scene. — Little  Mary,  one  day,  was  detected  in  a 
wrong  act  by  her  teacher.  "  Mary,  come  here,"  said  the 
teacher,  sternly.  Little  thinking  she  had  been  seen,  she 
obeyed  promptly,  and  stood  by  the  chair  of  her  teacher, 
who,  without  giving  Mary  time  to  reflect,  and  thus  allow 
the  conscience  opportunity  to  gain  the  mastery,  immedi- 
ately asked,  "What  naughty  thing  did  I  see  you  do  just 
now  ?  "  "  Nothing,"  said  Mary,  partly  disposed  to  justify 
herself,  and  partly  doubting  whether  indeed  the  teacher 
had  seen  her  do  anything  wrong.  "  Oh,  Mary,  Mary,  who 
would  think  you  would  tell  me  a  lie  !  Did  you  ever  hear 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  ?  "  Here  a  lecture  followed  on 
the  sin  and  danger  of  lying,  and  particularly  the  dan- 
ger of  sudden  death  by  the  vengeance  of  God.  Mary  be- 
gan to  tremble,  and  then  to  "weep,  probably  from  terror. 


170  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Now  came  the  second  part.  "  I  should  think  you  would 
be  ashamed  to  be  known  to  lie.  All  the  children  now 
know  that  you  have  lied.  I  should  think  they  would 
feel  ashamed  of  such  a  naughty  little  girl  in  the  school. 
I  should  not  wonder,"  she  continued,  "  if  all  the  little 
girls  and  boys  should  point  their  fingers  at  you  and 
hiss."  In  an  instant  all  the  children  who  were  not  too 
old  to  be  disgusted  with  the  management  and  tone  of 
the  teacher,  pointed  their  fingers,  and  uttered  a  long 
succession  of  hisses,  while  their  faces  beamed  with  all 
the  complacency  of  self-righteousness,  triumphing  over 
the  fall  of  a  companion,  who,  perhaps,  was  after  all  as 
good  and  as  truthful  a  child  as  any  of  them.  The  poor 
child  at  first  turned  her  back  upon  them  ;  but  soon,  feel- 
ing that  her  reputation  was  gone,  she  turned,  as  woman 
ever  will  when  her  self-respect  is  blighted,  with  a  look  of 
indifference,  almost  a  look  of  defiance.  Fear  was  first 
swallowed  up  in  shame,  and  shame  gave  place  to  reckless 
audacity.  The  whole  scene  was  rendered  still  more  ruin- 
ous to  the  child,  from  the  fact  that  it  took  place  in  the 
presence  of  visitors ! 

Freezing  the  Affections. — When  will  our  teachers  learn 
the  human  heart  well  enough  to  be  able  to  distinguish 
between  a  work  of  devastation  and  of  true  culture ;  be- 
tween a  process  of  blighting  the  sensibilities,  searing  the 
conscience,  freezing  up  the  fountains  of  sympathy,  and 
of  mutual  love  and  confidence, — and  a  course  of  training 
which  warms  the  conscience  into  activity,  inculcates  the 
reverence  and  love  of  God,  instead  of  a  slavish  fear  of 
His  power,  and  instils  into  the  soul  a  desire  to  do  right 
rather  than  to  do  that  which  will  avoid  the  reproach  of  an 
unfeeling  multitude,more  wicked  than  those  they  censure  ? 
Goldsmith  has  shown  that  woman  may  "  stoop  to  con- 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  171 

quer;     but  the  above  narrative  shows  how  she  may  stoop, 
not  to  conquer,  but  to  lay  waste  the  youthful  heart 

Let  Teachers  Think. — These  punishments,  and  such 
as  these,  which  I  have  classed  under  the  list  of  improper 
punishments,  should  all  be  carefully  considered  by  the 
teacher.  They  should  be  considered  before  he  enters  his 
school.  It  would  be  well  always  for  him  to  determine 
beforehand  what  punishments  he  will  not  use.  It  may 
save  him  many  a  serious  mistake.  I  have  written  what 
I  have  under  this  head,  in  order  to  put  teachers  upon 
thought ;  believing  that  men  seldom  earnestly  and  hon- 
estly inquire,  without  arriving  at  the  truth  in  the  end. 

II.  Proper  Punishments, 

Every  teacher's  mind  should,  if  possible,  be  settled  as 
to  what  punishments  are  proper,  so  that,  when  they  are 
inflicted,  it  can  be  done  in  good  faith,  and  with  an  honest 
conviction  of  the  performance  of  duty.  Among  the 
proper  punishments,  I  may  mention — 

i.  Kind  Reproof. — This  will  probably  be  conceded  by 
all.  I  say  kind  reproof,  because  no  other  reproof  can  be 
useful.  I  would  distinguish  it  from  reproach.  Reproof, 
judiciously  administered,  is  one  of  the  most  effectual 
punishments  that  can  be  used.  As  a  general  rule,  this 
is  best  administered  privately.  The  child's  spirit  of 
obstinacy  is  very  likely  to  exhibit  itself  in  the  presence 
of  his  fellows ;  but  in  private,  the  conscience  is  free  to 
act,  and  the  child  very  readily  submits.  It  is  always 
perfectly  safe  to  reprove  privately ;  that  is,  not  in  the 
presence  of  the  school.  The  child  has  no  motive  to 
misrepresent  the  teacher  ;  and  if  the  teacher  so  far  spares 
the  reputation  of  the  pupil  as  to  take  him  by  himself, 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

this  very  circumstance   will  often  give  the  teacher  access 
to  his  better  feelings. 

2.  Loss  of  Privileges. — By    abuse    of    privileges    we 
forfeit    them.     This  is  a  law  of    Providence.     It  is  un- 
questionably proper   that  this  should    be  a   law  of  our 
schools.      All     those    offences,    therefore,    against    pro- 
priety in  the  exercise   of  any  privilege  may  be  attended 
with    a    temporary   or    permanent    deprivation  of  such 
privilege,     A  pupil  who   is   boisterous  at  the  recess,  dis- 
turbing the  quiet  of  the  school  or  impeding  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  playfellows,  may  be   deprived  of  the  recess. 
A  child  who  disfigures  his  seat  with  his  knife  may  be  de- 
prived of  his  knife  ;  and  so  for  any  other  similar  offence. 
Some  consider  it  proper  to   extend   this  punishment  to 
other  classes  of  offences — as,  for  example,  whispering  or 
idleness.     While  I  would  not  deny  the  right  or  the  pro- 
priety of  doing  so,  I  should  think  it  more  expedient  not 
thus  to  extend  it.     It  is  well,  as  far  as  it  can  be  done,  so 
to  punish  the  child  that  he  shall  see  that  his  conduct  nat- 
urally leads  to  its  punishment  as  a  consequence.     And  it 
is  moreover  very  probable  that  in  most  schools  there  will 
be  demand  enough  for  this  punishment,  in  its  natural  ap- 
plication, without  extending  it  to  other  cases. 

3.  Restraint,    or    Confinement— When     liberty    is 
abused,  a   scholar  may  be  put  under  restraint.     When 
duty  is  violated,  and  the  rights  of  others  are  wantonly 
disregarded,  confinement  will   afford  time  for  reflection, 
and  at  the  same  time  relieve  others  from  the  annoyance 
and  detriment  of  evil  example.     Such  restraint  is  often 
a  wholesome  discipline  ;  and    confinement,  if   it  be  not 
too    far   protracted,    is   always   safe.     It   should    be   re- 
marked, however,  that  confinement  in  a  dark  apartment 
should  never  be  resorted  to  by  any  teacher.     There  are 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  173 

insuperable  objections  to  it,  growing  out  of  the  fears 
which  many  children  early  entertain  of  being  alone  in  Hie 
dark,  as  also  the  fact  that  light  as  well  as  air  is  necessary 
to  the  vigorous  action  of  the  nervous  system  during  the 
waking  hours,  especially  in  the  daytime.  It  is  well 
known  that  a  child  shut  up  in  a  dark  room,  even  in  the 
warmth  of  summer,  speedily  undergoes  a  depression  of 
temperature;  and  if  the  confinement  is  unduly  pro- 
tracted, cold  chills  come  over  the  system.  For  these 
reasons  and  others,  if  confinement  is  ever  used  as  a  pun- 
ishment, it  should  be  in  a  room  properly  lighted  and 
heated.  Our  prisoners  enjoy,  as  far  as  may  be,  both  of 
these  favors. 

4.  Humiliation. — This  should  be  resorted  to  with 
great  caution.  When  a  fault  has  been  openly  commit- 
ted, and  attended  with  circumstances  of  peculiar  obsti- 
nacy, it  may  sometimes  very  properly  be  required  of  the 
offender  that  he  should  confess  the  fault  in  a  manner  as 
public  as  its  commission.  This  may  be  due  to  the 
school.  Sometimes  when  an  offensive  act  is  very 
strongly  marked,  a  confession  and  a  request  for  the 
forgiveness  of  the  teacher  or  the  individual  injured  may 
be  made  a  condition  of  restoration  to  favor.  This  is 
usually  considered  a  very  proper  punishment.  I  would, 
however,  suggest  that  it  be  used  with  great  care,  and 
never  unless  the  circumstances  imperatively  demand 
it.  It  may  be  the  means  of  cultivating  the  grossest 
hypocrisy,  or  of  inducing  open  rebellion  ;  and  it  some, 
times  gives  the  other  pupils  an  advantage  over  the  cul- 
prit which  may  do  him  personally  much  harm.  The 
teacher  should  be  convinced  that  this  is  the  best  thing 
he  can  do  before  he  resorts  to  it. 


174  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

5.  The  Imposition  of  a  Task. — In  every  school  there 
is  more  or  less  work  to  be  done  ;  such  as  sweeping  the 
floors,  washing  the  benches,  preparing  the  fuel,  and 
making  the  fires.  Unless  objection  should  be  made  by 
parents,  this  is  one  of  the  most  effectual  punishments, 
especially  in  cities  and  large  villages,  where  work  is  a 
burden,  and  the  attractions  of  play  are  most  powerful. 
Some  difficult  schools  have  been  governed  for  months 
with  no  other  punishment  than  labor  thus  imposed. 
The  plan  is,  that  if  two  boys  neglect  their  studies  so  as 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  teacher,  they  shall  be  nom- 
inated as  members  on  the  committee  on  sweeping — a 
duty  to  be  performed  after  school-hours.  If  one  or  two 
more  are  decidedly  disorderly,  they  shall  be  required  to 
make  fires,  bring  up  wood,  or  perhaps  wash  a  certain  por- 
tion of  the  room.  This  is  always  assigned  pleasantly  by 
the  teacher,  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  any 
failure  to  do  the  allotted  work  thoroughly  and  faithfully 
will  be  attended  with  a  reappointment  till  the  object  is 
secured. 

If  parents  should  object  to  this,  it  is  not  absolutely 
essential  to  the  teacher's  success  ;  but  where  no  objection 
is  made,  if  judiciously  managed,  it  may  do  very  much  in 
many  of  our  schools  towards  producing  that  quiet  order 
which  otherwise  it  might  require  more  cogent  and  less 
agreeable  means  to  secure. 

An  Objection  Answered. — It  has  sometimes  been 
urged,  as  an  objection  to  this  mode  of  punishment,  that 
it  would  tend  to  attach  the  idea  of  disgrace  to  useful 
labor.  It  is  conceived  that  this  is  by  no  means  the  nec- 
essary consequence,  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  serve 
to  teach  the  difference  there  always  is  between  a  duty 
imposed  and  one  voluntarily  undertaken.  The  same  ob- 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  175 

jection  would  apply  to  our  prison  discipline,  where  a 
man,  by  a  wilful  disregard  of  law  and  the  rights  of 
others,  very  justly  forfeits  his  services  for  a  time  to  the 
state. 

Not  Strongly  Urged. — I  would  not  lay  very  much 
stress  upon  this  mode  of  punishment,  though  I  have 
known  it  resorted  to  under  favorable  circumstances  with 
very  good  effect.  It  would,  of  course,  be  more' effectual 
in  a  large  town  or  city  than  in  the  country,  where  boys 
are  in  the  habit  of  laboring  at  home,  and  would  be  quite 
as  willing  to  labor  after  regular  hours  at  school. 

6.  Actual  Chastisement  with  the  Rod  of  Correction. 
— I  have  no  hesitation  (though  others  have)  in  placing 
this  among  the  class  of  proper  punishments.  As  this 
involves  a  great  question  on  the  subject  of  school- 
government,  and  one  that  is  debated  with  great  zeal 
and  warmth  in  almost  every  educational  meeting  that  is 
held,  I  shall  feel  justified  in  giving  a  little  more  space  to 
the  consideration  of  it. 

SECTION    IV.     CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT. 

Views  of  Others. — I  am  aware  that  when  I  enter 
this  field  I  am  treading  on  ground  every  inch  of  which 
has  been  disputed.  I  come  to  the  task  of  writing  on 
this  subject,  however,  I  think,  without  prejudice  or 
asperity.  Having  nothing  to  conceal,  I  shall  express 
my  own  views  honestly  and  frankly — views  which  I  en- 
tertain after  diligently  seeking  the  truth  for  some 
twenty  years,  during  which  time  I  have  listened  to  a 
great  deal  of  discussion,  and  have  read  carefully  and  can- 
didly whatever  has  been  written  by  others.  Nor  do 
I  expect  to  give  universal  satisfaction.  There  are 
strong  men,  and  I  believe  honest  men  who  run  to  the 


17C  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

opposite  extremes  in  their  doctrine  and  practice,  and 
who  defend  the  one  course  or  the  other  as  if  the  ex- 
istence of  the  world  depended  upon  the  issue.  There 
are  those  who  not  only  claim  the  right  to  chastise,  but 
who  insist  that  whipping  should  be  the  first  resort  of 
the  teacher  in  establishing  his  authority  ;  and,  co  show 
that  this  is  not  a  dormant  article  of  their  faith,  they 
daily  and  almost  hourly  demonstrate  their  efficiency  in 
the  use  of  the  rod,  so  that  their  pupils  may  be  living 
witnesses  that  they  act  in  accordance  with  their  creed. 
Again,  there  are  others  who  as  earnestly  deny  the  right 
of  the  teacher  to  resort  to  the  rod  at  all,  and  who  urge 
with  all  their  power  the  efficacy  of  moral  suasion  to  sub- 
due and  control  the  vicious  and  the  stubborn  in  our 
schools,  and  who  are  ready  to  assert  unequivocally  that 
no  man  is  fit  to  be  employed  to  teach  the  young  who 
has  not  the  ability  to  govern  all  the  various  dispositions 
he  may  meet  in  any  school,  without  the  use  of  corporal 
punishment. 

Men  See  Differently. — I  have  no  disposition  to  ques- 
tion the  sincerity  and  honesty  of  each  of  these  classes, 
knowing,  as  I  do,  that  different  men  see  with  different 
eyes,  even  when  the  circumstances  are  the  same — much 
more  when  their  circumstances  are  widely  diverse.  1 
have  no  bitterness  of  language  to  apply  to  those  who  go 
to  the  extreme  of  severity  ;  nor  any  sneer  to  bestow 
upon  the  name  of  "  moral-suasionist."'  But  while  I  ac- 
cord to  other  men  the  right  of  expressing  their  own 
opinions,  I  claim  the  same  privilege  for  myself, — yet 
without  wishing  to  obtrude  my  opinions  upon  other  men 
any  further  than  they  will  bear  the  test  of  reason  and 
experience. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  177 

Authority  at  Any  Rate. — It  is  agreed  on  all  hands 
that  the  teacher  must  establish  authority  in  some  way, 
before  he  can  pursue  successfully  the  objects  of  his  school. 
I  have  described  the  qualifications  which  the  teacher 
should  possess  in  order  to  govern  well,  and  I  have  also 
given  some  of  the  means  of  securing  good  order  without 
a  resort  to  severity.  Probably,  in  a  large  majority  of  our 
schools,  the  teacher  with  these  qualifications  and  the 
employment  of  these  means  could  succeed  in  establish- 
ing and  maintaining  good  order  without  any  such  resort. 
This  should  in  my  opinion  always  be  done,  if  possible ; 
and  no  one  will  rejoice  more  than  myself  to  see  the 
day,  should  that  day  ever  come,  when  teachers  shall  be 
so  much  improved  as  to  be  able  to  do  this  universally. 
But  in  writing  on  this  subject  it  is  the  dictate  of  com- 
mon sense  to  take  human  nature  as  it  is,  and  human 
teachers  as  they  are,  and  as  many  of  them  must  be,  for 
some  time  to  come,  and  adapt  our  directions  to  the 
circumstances.  Human  nature,  as  it  is  exhibited  in  our 
children,  is  far  from  being  perfect ;  and  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  the  parents  of  our  children  often  exhibit  it  in  a 
still  less  flattering  light. 

Mr.  Mann  Quoted. — Perhaps  no  language  of  mine  can 
so  well  represent  the  concurrence  of  circumstances 
making  corporal  punishment  necessary  in  our  schools  as 
it  has  been  done  by  the  Hon.  Horace  Mann  in  his  lecture 
on  "  School  Punishments."  "  The  first  point,"  says  he, 
"  which  I  shall  consider  is,  whether  corporal  punish- 
ment is  ever  necessary  in  our  schools.  As  preliminary 
to  a  decision  of  this  question  let  us  take  a  brief  survey 
of  facts.  We  have  in  this  Commonwealth  [Massa. 
chusetts]  above  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand 
children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years. 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

All  these  children  are  not  only  legally  entitled  to  attend 
our  public  schools,  but  it  is  our  great  desire  to  increase 
that  attendance,  and  he  who  increases  it  is  regarded  a 
reformer.  All  that  portion  of  these  children  who  attend 
school  enter  it  from  the  vast  variety  of  homes  which 
exist  in  the  state.  From  different  households,  where  the 
widest  diversity  of  parental  and  domestic  influences 
prevails,  the  children  enter  the  schoolroom,  where  there 
must  be  comparative  uniformity.  At  home  some  of 
these  children  have  been  indulged  in  every  wish,  flat- 
tered and  smiled  upon  for  the  energies  of  their  low 
propensities,  and  even  their  freaks  and  whims  enacted 
into  household  laws.  Some  have  been  so  rigorously  de- 
barred from  every  innocent  amusement  and  indulgence, 
that  they  have  opened  for  themselves  a  way  to  gratifi- 
cation— through  artifice,  and  treachery  and  falsehood. 
Others,  from  vicious  parental  example,  and  the  corrupt- 
ing influences  of  vile  associates,  have  been  trained  to 
bad  habits  and  contaminated  with  vicious  principles  ever 
since  they  were  born — some  being  taught  that  honor 
consists  in  whipping  a  boy  larger  than  themselves  ;  others, 
that  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  own  a  box  that 
cannot  be  opened,  and  to  get  money  enough  to  fill  it  J 
and  others,  again,  have  been  taught  upon  their  father's 
knees  to  shape  their  young  lips  to  the  utterance  of 
oaths  and  blasphemy.  Now  all  these  dispositions,  which" 
do  not  conflict  with  right  more  than  they  do  with  each 
other,  as  soon  as  they  cross  the  threshold  of  the  school- 
room, from  the  different  worlds,  as  it  were,  of  homes, 
must  be  made  to  obey  the  same  general  regulations,  to 
pursue  the  same  studies,  and  to-aim  at  the  same  results. 
In  addition  to  these  artificial  varieties,  the-re  are  natural 
differences  of  temperament  and  disposition. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  179 

"  Again,  there  are  about  three  thousand  public  schools 
in  the  state,  in  which  are  employed  in  the  course  of  the 
year,  about  five  thousand  different  persons  as  teachers, 
including  both  males  and  females.  Excepting  a  very 
few  cases,  these  five  thousand  persons  have  had  no 
special  preparation  or  training  for  their  employment, 
and  many  of  them  are  young  and  without  experience. 
These  five  thousand  teachers,  then,  so  many  of  whom 
are  unprepared,  are  to  be  placed  in  authority  over  the 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand  children,  so  many 
of  whom  have  been  perverted.  Without  passing  through 
any  transition  state  for  improvement,  these  parties  meet 
each  other  in  the  schoolroom,  where  mutiny  and  insubor- 
dination -and  disobedience  are  to  be  repressed,  order 
maintained,  knowledge  acquired.  He,  therefore,  who  de- 
nies the  necessity  of  resorting  to  punishment  in  our 
schools — and  to  corporal  punishment,  too, — virtually  af- 
firms two  things  :  First,  that  this  great  number  of  chil- 
dren, scooped  up  from  all  places,  taken  at  all  ages  and  in 
all  conditions,  can  be  deterred  from  the  wrong  and  at- 
tracted to  the  right  without  punishment :  and,  secondly, 
he  asserts  that  the  five  thousand  persons  whom  the  towns 
and  districts  employ  to  keep  their  respective  schools  are 
now,  in  the  present  conditions  of  things,  able  to  accom- 
plish so  glorious  a  work.  Neither  of  these  propositions 
am  I  at  present  prepared  to  admit.  If  there  are  extraor- 
dinary individuals — and  we  know  there  are  such — so  sin- 
gularly gifted  with  talent  and  resources,  and  with  the 
divine  quality  of  Love,  that  they  can  win  the  affection, 
and,  by  controlling  the  heart,  can  control  the  conduct  of 
children  who,  for  years,  have  been  addicted  to  lie,  to 
cheat,  to  swear,  to  steal,  to  fight,  still  I  do  not  believe 
there  are  now  five  thousand  such  individuals  in  the  state 


180  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

whose  heavenly  services  can  be  obtained  for  this  trans- 
forming work.  And  it  is  useless,  or  worse  than  useless, 
to  say  that  such  or  such  a  thing  can  be  done,  and  done 
immediately,  without  pointing  out  the  agents  by  whom 
it  can  be  done.  One  who  affirms  that  a  thing  can  be 
done,  without  any  reference  to  the  persons  who  can  do 
it,  must  be  thinking  of  miracles.  If  the  position  were 
that  children  may  be  so  educated  from  their  birth,  and 
teachers  may  be  so  trained  for  their  calling,  as  to  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  corporal  punishment,  except 
in  cases  decidedly  monstrous,  then  I  should  have  no 
doubt  of  its  truth  ;  but  such  a  position  must  have  refer- 
ence to  some  future  period,  which  we  should  strive  to 
hasten,  but  ought  not  to  anticipate." 

Disobedience  Encouraged. — Aside  from  the  causes 
demanding  punishment,  so  ably  portrayed  in  the  passage 
just  quoted,  there  is  still  another,  growing  out  of  divi- 
sions and  quarrels  in  the  district.  It  is  by  no  means  un- 
common, in  our  districts,  owing  to  some  local  matter,  or 
to  some  disunion  in  politics  or  religion,  for  the  people  to 
be  arrayed,  the  one  part  against  the  other.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  the  upper  road  are  jealous  of  the  dwellers  on  the 
lower  road  ;  the  hill  portion  of  the  district  is  aggrieved 
by  the  influence  of  the  valley  portion;  the  "east  end" 
complains  of  the  selfishness  of  the  "west  end, "and  so  of 
the  north  and  south.  Whenever  a  school  house  is  to  be 
built,  these  different  interests  are  aroused,  and  a  pro- 
tracted and  baleful  quarrel  is  the  result.  One  party 
"  carries  the  day  by  the  force  of  numbers,  but  the  pros- 
perity of  the  school  is  impaired  for  years.  At  every  dis- 
trict meeting  there  will  be  the  same  strife  for  the  mastery. 
If  one  division  gains  the  power,  the  other  bends  its  en- 
ergies to  cripple  the  school,  and  to  annoy  the  teacher 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  181 

who  may  be  employed  by  the  dominant  party,  however 
excellent  or  deserving  he  may  be.  '•  We  will  see,"  say 
those  who  find  themselves  in  the  minority,  "  we  will  see 
whether  this  man  can  keep  our  school  as  well  as  it  was 
done  last  year  by  our  master."  This  is  uttered  in  presence 
of  their  children — perhaps  their  half-grown  sons,  who 
will  be  very  ready  to  meet  their  new  teacher  with 
prejudice  and  to  act  out  the  misgivings  of  their 
parents  as  to  his  success.  When  the  teacher  first  en- 
ters the  school,  he  is  met  by  opposition,  even  be- 
fore he  has  time  to  make  an  impression  for  good  ;  op- 
position, which  he  can  scarcely  hope  to  surmount  as  long 
as  it  is  thus  encouraged  at  home.  Now  what  shall  he 
do  ?  Shall  he  yield  the  point,  abandon  the  idea  of 
authority,  and  endeavor  to  live  along  from  day  to  day, 
in  the  hope  of  a  more  comfortable  state  of  things  by 
and  by  ?  He  may  be  sure  that  matters  will  daily  grow 
worse.  Shall  he  give  up  in  despair,  and  leave  the  school 
to  some  successor?  This  will  only  strengthen  the  op- 
position and  make  it  more  violent  when  the  successor 
shall  be  appointed.  It  is  but  putting  the  difficulty  one 
step  further  off.  Besides,  if  the  teacher  does  thus  give 
up  and  leave  the  school,  he  loses  his  own  reputation  as 
a  man  of  energy,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  wao 
perhaps  may  not  know — or.  care  to  know — all  the  cir- 
cumstances, he  is  held  ever  after  as  incompetent  for  the 
office. 

Shall  the  Teacher  Yield  ?  No,  no  !— Now  it  would 
be  very  gratifying  if  the  teacher,  under  any  or  all  of  these 
difficulties,  could  possess  the  moral  power  to  quell  them 
all  by  a  look  or  by  the  exercise  of  his  ingenuity  in  inter- 
esting his  pupils  in  their  studies.  Undoubtedly  there 
are  some  men  who  could  do  it,  and  do  it  most  triumph- 


182  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

antly,  so  as  to  make  their  most  zealous  enemies  in  a  few 
days  their  warmest  friends.  But  there  are  not  many 
who  can  work  thus  at  disadvantage.  What  then  shall 
be  done?  Shall  the  school  be  injured  by  being  dis- 
banded, and  the  teacher  be  stigmatized  for  a  failure, 
when  he  has  been  employed  in  good  faith  ?  I  say  NO  • 
He  has  the  right  to  establish  authority  by  corporal  inflic- 
tion ;  and  thus  to  save  the  school  and  also  save  him- 
self. And  more  than  this ;  if  there  is  reasonable 
ground  to  believe  that  by  such  infliction  he  can  establish 
order,  and  thus  make  himself  useful,  and  save  the  time 
and  the  character  of  the  school,  he  not  only  has  the  right, 
but  lie  is  bound  by  duty  to  use  it.  The  lovers  of  order  in 
the  district  have  a  right  to  expect  him  to  use  it,  unless  by 
express  stipulation  beforehand  they  have  exempted  him 
from  it.  I  repeat,  then,  that  it  is  the  teacher's  duty  to 
establish  authority  ;  "peacefully,  indeed,  if  he  may — for- 
cibly if  he  must." 

Transfer. — I  ought  in  fairness  here  to  add,  as  I  have 
before  hinted,  that  not  unfrequently  the  necessity  for 
corporal  infliction  exists  in  the  teacher  himself.  This  is 
often  proved  by  a  transfer  of  teachers.  One  man  takes 
a  school,  and  can  only  survive  his  term  by  the  exercise  of 
whipping.  He  is  followed  by  another  who  secures  good 
order  and  the  love  of  the  school  without  any  resort  to 
the  rod.  The  first  declared  that  whipping  was  necessary 
in  his  case  to  secure  good  order,  and  truly  ;  but  the  ne- 
cessity resided  in  him  and  not  in  the  school.  So  it  often 
does ;  and,  while  teachers  are  zealously  defending  the 
rod,  they  should  also  feel  the  necessity  of  improving 
themselves  as  the  most  effectual  way  to  obviate  its  fre- 
quent use. 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  183 

Daily  Flogging  Condemned. — When  authority  is  once 
established  in  a  school,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  main- 
tain it.  There  will,  of  course,  be  less  necessity  for  re- 
sorting to  the  rod  after  the  teacher  has  obtained  the 
ascendency,  unless  it  be  in  the  event  of  taking  some  new 
pupil  into  the  school  who  is  disposed  to  be  refractory.  I 
have  but  little  respect  for  the  teacher  who  is  daily 
obliged  to  fortify  his  authority  by  corporal  infliction. 
Something  must  be  fundamentally  wrong  in  the  teacher 
whose  machinery  of  government,  when  once  well  in  mo- 
tion, needs  to  be  so  often  forcibly  wound  up. 

Say  Nothing  about  Whipping. — From  what  has 
already  been  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  I  do  not  belong  to 
the  number  who  affirm  that  the  rod  of  correction  should 
never  be  used  in  schools,  Nor  am  I  prepared  to  advise 
any  teacher  to  publish  beforehand  that  he  will  not  punish 
with  the  rod.  It  would  always  be  wiser  for  the  teacher 
to  say  nothing  about  it.  Very  little  good  ever  comes  of 
threatening  the  use  of  it.  Threatening  of  any  sort  avails 
but  little.  A  teacher  may  enter  a  school  with  the  deter- 
mination to  govern  it  if  possible  without  force.  In- 
deed, I  should  advise  one  always  to  make  this  determin- 
ation in  his  own  mind.  But  whenever  such  a  determin- 
ation is  published,  the  probability  of  success  is  very  much 
diminished. 

There  is  an  Arm  of  Power. — The  true  way  and  the 
safe  way,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  rely  mainly  on  moral 
means  for  the  government  of  the  school — to  use  the  rod 
without  much  threatening,  if  driven  to  it  by  the  force 
of  circumstances,  and,  as  soon  as  authority  is  estab- 
lished, to  allow  it  again  to  slumber,  with  the  tacit  un- 
derstanding that  it  can  be  again  awakened  from  its  re- 
pose if  found  necessary.  The  knowledge  in  the  school 


184  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

that  there  is  an  arm  of  power  may  prevent  any  necessity 
of  an  appeal  to  it ;  and  such  a  knowledge  can  do  no 
possible  harm  in  itself.  But  if  the  teacher  has  once 
pledged  himself  to  the  school  that  he  will  never  use  the 
rod,  the  necessity  may  soon  come  for  him  to  abandon 
his  position  or  lose  his  influence  over  the  pupils. 

Proposed  Substitutes. — As  much  has  been  said 
against  the  use  of  the  rod  in  any  case  in  school  gov- 
ernment, it  may  be  proper  to  consider  briefly  some  of 
the  substitutes  for  it  which  have  been  suggested  by  its 
opposers. 

Solitary  Confinement. — Some  have  urged  solitary  con- 
finement.    This  might  do  in  some  cases.     Undoubtedly 
an  opportunity  for  reflection  is  of  great  use  to  a  vicious 
boy.     But  then  how  inadequate  are  the  means  for  this 
kind  of  discipline  in  our  schools  !     Most   of   our  school- 
houses  have  but  one  room.     In  such  cases  solitary  con- 
finement is  out  of  the  question.    In  other  instances  there 
may  be   (as  there  always  should  be)  a  room,  not  con- 
stantly devoted  to  the  purposes  of  the  school.     Here  a 
pupil  could  be  confined  ,  and  I  have  no  objection  what- 
ever to  this  course,  provided  the  room  is  not  a  dark  one, 
and  its  temperature  can  be  comfortable.     But  even  with 
this  facility,  confinement  cannot  be  relied  on  as  the  only 
punishment,  because  if  offences  should  multiply,  and  the 
offenders  should  all  be  sent  to  the  same  place,  then  con- 
finement would  soon  cease  to  be  solitary  !     And  suppose 
some  philanthropist  should  devise  a  plan  of  a  school-house 
with  several  cells   for  the  accommodation  of  offenders, 
still   this  punishment   would    fail  of  its  purpose.     The 
teacher  has  no  power  to  confine  a  pupil  much  beyond 
the  limit  of  school-hours.  This  the  obstinate  child  would 
understand,  and  he  would  therefore  resolve  to  hold  out 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  185 

till  he  must  be  dismissed,  and  then  he  would  be  the  tri- 
umphant party.  He  could  boast  to  his  fellows  that  he 
had  borne  the  punishment,  and  that  without  submission 
or  promise  for  the  future  he  had  been  excused  because 
his  time  had  expired. 

Parental  Folly. — This  substitute  is  often  urged  by 
parents,  who  have  tried  it  successfully  in  case  of  their 
own  children  in  their  own  houses,  where  it  was  known 
that  it  could  of  course  be  protracted  to  any  necessary 
length.  Besides,  if  the  confinement  alone  was  not  suffi- 
cient, the  daily  allowance  of  food  could  be  withheld. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  may  be  very  effectual,  as 
undoubtedly  it  often  has  been  ;  but  he  is  a  very  shallow 
parent  who,  having  tried  this  experiment  upon  a  single 
child,  with  all  the  facilities  of  a  parent,  prescribes  it 
with  the  expectation  of  equal  success  in  the  government 
of  a  large  school. 

Expulsion  not  Expedient. — Others  have  urged  the 
expulsion  of  such  scholars  as  are  disobedient.  To  this  it 
may  be  replied  that  it  is  not  quite  certain,  under  ex- 
isting laws,  whether  the  teacher  has  the  right  to  expel 
the  scholar  from  the  common  schools ;  and  some  deny 
even  the  right  of  the  school-officers  to  do  it.  Whether 
the  right  exists  or  not,  it  is  very  questionable  whether 
it  is  ever  expedient  to  expel  a  scholar  for  vicious  con- 
duct ;  and  especially  in  cases  where  there  is  physical 
power  to  control  him.  The  vicious  and  ignorant  scholar 
is  the  very  one  who  most  needs  the  reforming  influence 
of  a  good  education.  Sent  away  from  the  fountain  of 
knowledge  and  virtue  at  this — the  very  time  of  need — 
and  what  may  we  expect  for  him  but  utter  ruin  ?  Such 
a  pupil  most  of  all  needs  the  restraint  and  the  instruction 


186  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

of  a  teacher  who  is  capable  of  exercising  the  one  and 
affording  the  other. 

The  Culprit  not  Improved.— But  suppose  he  is 
dismissed,  is  there  any  reason  to  hope  that  this  step  will 
improve  the  culprit  himself,  or  better  the  condition  of 
the  school  ?  Will  he  not  go  on  to  establish  himself 
in  vice,  unrestrained  by  any  good  influence,  and  at 
last  become  a  suitable  subject  for  the  severity  of  the 
laws,  an  inmate  of  our  prisons,  and  perhaps  a  miserable 
expiator  of  his  own  crimes  upon  the  gallows?  How 
many  youth — and  youth  worth  saving,  too — have  been 
thus  cast  out  perversely  to  procure  their  own  ruin,  at 
the  very  time  when  they  might  have  been  saved  by  suffi- 
cient energy  and  benevolence,  no  mortal  tongue  can 
tell !  Nor  is  the  school  itself  usually  benefited  by 
this  measure.  "  For  all  purposes  of  evil,"  Mr.  Mann 
justly  remarks,  "  he  continues  in  the  midst  of  the  very 
children  from  among  whom  he  was  cast  out  ;  and  when 
he  associates  with  them  out  of  school,  there  is  no  one 
present  to  abate  or  neutralize  his  vicious  influences.  If 
the  expelled  pupil  be  driven  from  the  district  where  he 
belongs  into  another,  in  order  to  prevent  his  contamina- 
tion at  home,  what  better  can  be  expected  of  the  place 
to  which  he  is  sent  than  a  reciprocation  of  the  deed,  by 
their  sending  one  of  their  outcasts  to  supply  his  place  ; 
and  thus  opening  a  commerce  of  evil  upon  free-trade 
principles.  Nothing  is  gained  while  the  evil  purpose 
remains  in  the  heart.  Reformation  is  the  great  desid- 
eratum ;  and  can  any  lover  of  his  country  hesitate  be- 
tween the  alternative  or  forcible  subjugation  and  victori- 
ous contumacy." 

A  Creed  and  its  Basis. — From  all  that  has  been  said, 
it  will  be  seen  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  teach  that 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  187 

corporal  infliction  is  one  of  t  tie  justifiable  means  of  estab- 
lishing authority  in  the  school-room  To  this  conclusion 
I  have  come,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject, modified  by  the  varied  experience  of  nearly 
twenty  years,  and  by  a  somewhat  attentive  observation 
of  the  workings  of  all  the  plans  which  have  been  de- 
vised to  avoid  its  use  or  to  supply  its  place,  And  al- 
though I  do  not  understand  the  Scriptures,  and  particu- 
larly the  writings  of  Solomon,  to  recommend  a  too 
frequent  and  ill-considered  use  of  it,  I  do  not  find  any 
thing  in  the  letter  or  spirit  of  Christianity  inconsistent 
with  its  proper  application.  It  is  the  abuse,  and  not  the 
use,  of  the  rod,  against  which  our  better  feeling,  as  well 
as  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  revolts.  It  is  the  abuse  of 
the  rod,  or  rather  the  abuse  of  children  under  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  rod,  that  first  called  forth  the  discussion  re- 
ferred to,  and  awakened  the  general  opposition  to  its  use. 
I  am  free  to  admit  there  has  been  an  egregious  abuse  in 
this  matter,  and  that  to  this  day  it  is  unabated  in  many  of 
our  schools.  1  admit,  too,  that  abuse  very  naturally  ac- 
companies the  use  of  the  rod,  and  that  very  great  cau- 
tion is  necessary  in  those  who  resort  to  it,  lest  they  per- 
vert it.  I  feel  called  upon,  therefore,  before  leaving  this 
subject,  to  throw  out  for  the  consideration  of  the  young 
teacher,  particularly,  a  few  hints  to  regulate  the  infliction 
of  chastisement,  under  the  head  of — 

SECTION   V.       LIMITATIONS   AND   SUGGESTIONS. 

I.  The  Best  Thing.— The  teacher  should  be  thor- 
oughly convinced  that  the  rod  is  the  best  thing  for  the 
specific  case  before  he  determines  to  use  it.  Nor  should 
he  hastily  or  capriciously  come  to  this  conviction.  He 
should  carefully  and  patiently  try  other  means  first.  He 


188  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

should  study  the  disposition  of  the  offender,  and  learn 
the  tendencies  of  his  mind  ;  and  only  after  careful  delib- 
eration should  he  suffer  himself  to  decide  to  use  this 
mode  of  punishment.  In  order  that  the  punishment 
should  be  salutary,  the  scholar  should  plainly  see  that 
the  teacher  resorts  to  it  from  deep  principle,  from  the  full 
belief  that  under  all  the  circumstances  it  is  the  best  thing 
that  can  be  done. 

2.  Never  in  Anger  Punish. — The  teacher  should  never 
be  under  the  excitement  of  angry  passion  when  inflicting 
the    punishment.     This   is   of   the    utmost    importance. 
Most  of  the  abuses  before  spoken  of  grow  out  of  a  vio- 
lation  of   this    fundamental    rule.      A    teacher    should 
never  strike  for  punishment  till  he  is  perfectly  self-pos- 
sessed, and  entirely  free  from  the  bitterness  which  per- 
haps tinctured  his  mind  when  he  discovered  the  offence. 
It  was  a  wise  remark  of  a  young  Shaker  teacher,  that 
"  no  teacher  should  strike  a  child    till  he  could  hold  his 
arm  '      So  long  as  the  child  discovers  that  the  teacher 
is  under  the  influence  of  passion,  and  that  his  lip  trem- 
bles with  pent-up  rage,  and  his  blood  flows  into  his  face 
as  if  driven  by  inward  fires  of  wrath,  he  looks  upon  him, 
not  as  his  friend  seeking  his  welfare,  but  as  his  enemy 
indulging  in  persecution.      This  will  call  forth  the  evil 
passions  of  the  child,  and  while  he  bears   the  pain,  he 
feels  no  real  penitence;  and  very  likely  in  the  midst  of 
his  suffering  he  resolves  to  go  and  do  the  same  again, 
out  of  mere  spite 

Public  Opinion. — It  is  moreover  of  great  consequence, 
in  the  infliction  of  a  punishment,  that  the  teacher  should 
be  fully  sustained  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  school. 
He  can  never  expect  this  when  he  loses  his  self-control. 
If  the  pupils  see  that  he  is  angry,  they  almost  instinct- 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  189 

ively  sympathize  with  the  weaker  party,  and  they  as- 
sociate the  idea  of  injustice  with  the  action  of  the 
stronger.  A  punishment  can  scarcely  be  of  any  good 
tendency  inflicted  under  such  circumstances. 

3.  In  Presence  of  the  School. — Corporal  punishment, 
as  a  rule,  should  be  inflicted  in  presence  of  tlie  school.  I 
have  before  advised  that  reproof  should  be  given  in  pri- 
vate, and  assigned  reasons  for  it,  which  were  perhaps 
satisfactory  to  the  reader  But  in  case  of  corporal  pun- 
ishment, the  offence  is  of  a  more  public  and  probably 
of  a  more  serious  nature.  If  inflicted  in  private,  it  will 
still  be  known  to  the  school,  and  therefore  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  scholar  is  not  saved.  If  inflicted  in  the 
proper  spirit  by  the  teacher  and  for  proper  cause,  it 
always  produces  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  school.  But 
a  still  stronger  reason  for  making  the  infliction  public 
is  that  it  puts  it  beyond  the  power  of  the  pupil  to  mis- 
represent the  teacher,  as  he  is  strongly  tempted  to  do  if 
he  is  alone.  He  may  misstate  the  degree  of  severity, 
and  misrepresent  the  manner  of  the  teacher  :  and,  with- 
out witnesses,  the  teacher  is  at  the  mercy  of  his  reports. 
Sometimes  he  may  ridicule  the  punishment  to  his  com- 
rades, and  lead  them  to  believe  that  a  private  infliction 
is  but  a  small  matter;  again,  he  may  exaggerate  it  to 
his  parents,  and  charge  the  teacher  most  unjustly  with 
unprincipled  cruelty.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  the  safest  and  most  effectual  way  is 
to  do  this  work  in  presence  of  the  school.  An  honest 
teacher  needs  not  fear  the  light  of  day  ;  and  if  he  has 
the  right  spirit,  he  needs  not  fear  the  effect  upon  his 
other  pupils.  It  is  only  the  violent,  angry  punishment 
that  needs  to  be  concealed  from  the  general  eye,  and  that 
we  have  condemned  as  improper  at  any  rate. 


190  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Punishments  Delayed — Reasons  for  it. — Punishment 
may  sometimes  be  delayed ;  and  always  delayed  until 
all  ajigtr  has  subsided  in  the  teacher.  It  is  often  best 
for  all  concerned  to  defer  an  infliction  for  a  day  or  more. 
This  gives  the  teacher  an  opportunity  in  his  cooler  mo- 
ments to  determine  more  justly  the  degree  of  severity 
to  be  used.  It  will  also  give  the  culprit  time  to  reflect 
upon  the  nature  of  his  offence  and  the  degree  of  punish- 
ment he  deserves.  I  may  say  that  it  is  generally  wise 
for  the  teacher  after  promising  a  punishment  to  take 
some  time  to  consider  what  it  shall  be,  whether  a  cor- 
poral infliction  or  some  milder  treatment.  If  after  due 
and  careful  reflection  he  comes  conscientiously  to  the 
conclusion  that  bodily  pain  is  the  best  thing,  while  he 
will  be  better  prepared  to  inflict,  the  pupil  by  similar 
reflection  will  be  better  prepared  to  receive  it  and  profit 
by  it. 

5.  The  Instrument. — A  proper  instrument  should  be 
used   and    a  proper    mode    of   infliction    adopted.      No 
heavy  and  hurtful  weapon  should  be  employed.     A  light 
rule  tor  the  hand,  or  a  rod  for  the  back  or  lower  extremi- 
ties, may  be  preferred.     Great  care  should  be  exercised 
to  avoid  injuring  any  of  the  joints  in  the  infliction  ;  and 
on  no  account  should  a  blow  be  given  upon  the  head. 

6.  Effectual  Punishment. — If  possible,  the  punishment 
should  be  made  effectual.  A  punishment  that  does  not  pro- 
duce thorough  submission  and  penitence  in  the  subject 
of  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  answer  its  main  design.  To  be 
sure,  in  cases  of  general  insubordination  in  the  school,  I 
have  said  that  punishment  may  be  applied  to  one,  hav- 
ing in  view  the  deterring  of  others  from  similar  offences. 
But  such  exemplary  punishment  belongs  to  extreme  cases, 
while  disciplinary  punishment,  which  has  mainly  for  its 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  191 

object  the  reformation  of  the  individual  upon  whom 
it  is  inflicted,  should  be  most  relied  on.  Taking  either 
view  of  the  case,  it  should  if  possible  answer  its  design, 
or  it  would  be  better  not  to  attempt  it.  The  teacher's 
judgment,  therefore,  should  be  very  carefully  exercised  in 
the  matter,  and  all  his  knowledge  of  human  nature  should 
be  called  into  requisition.  If  after  careful  and  conscien- 
tious deliberation  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the  in- 
fliction of  pain  is  the  best  thing,  and  to  the  belief  that  he 
can  so  inflict  it  as  to  show  himself  to  the  school  and  to  the 
child  in  this  act  as  in  all  others,  a  true  and  kind  friend 
to  the  child, — then  he  is  justified  in  making  the  at- 
tempt ;  and  having  considerately  undertaken  the  case, 
it  should  be  so  thorough  as  not  soon  to  need  repetition. 

"Little  Whippings." — I  would  here  take  the  oppor- 
tunity to  censure  the  practi<fe  of  those  teachers  who 
punish  every  little  departure  from  duty  with  some  tri- 
fling appliance  of  the  rod,  which  the  scholar  forgets 
almost  as  soon  as  the  smarting  ceases.  Some  instruc- 
tors carry  about  with  them  a  rattan  or  stick,  in  order  to 
have  it  ready  for  appliance  as  soon  as  they  see  any 
departure  from  their  commands.  The  consequence  is 
they  soon  come  to  a  frequent  and  inconsiderate  use  of 
it,  and  the  pupils  by  habit  become  familiar  with  it,  and 
of  course  cease  to  respect  their  teacher  or  to  dread  his 
punishments.  I  have  seen  so  much  of  this  that,  when- 
ever I  see  a  teacher  thus  "  armed  and  equipped"  I  infer 
at  once  that  his  school  is  a  disorderly  one — an  inference 
almost  invariably  confirmed  by  a  few  minutes'  observa- 
tion. My  earnest  advice  to  all  young  teachers  would 
be,  next  to  the  habit  of  scolding  incessantly,  avoid  the 
habit  of  resorting  to  the  rod  on  every  slight  occasion. 
When  that  instrument  is  not  demanded  for  some  special 


1U2  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

exigency,  some  great  occasion  and  some  high  purpose, 
allow  it  to  slumber  in  a  private  corner  of  your  desk, 
not  again  to  be  called  into  activity  till  some  moral  con- 
vulsion shall  disturb  its  quiet  repose. 

How  to  Discuss  this  Subject. — I  have  a  single  cau- 
tion to  give  in  regard  to  the  discussion  of  this  subject, 
which  in  all  our  educational  gatherings  occupies  so 
much  time  and  talent.  It  is  this :  Do  not  adopt  a 
general  principle  from  too  few  inductions.  There  is  an 
old  proverb  that  Declares,  "  one  swallow  does  not  make 
a  summer."  Young  teachers  are  very  prone  to  rely  on 
the  experience  of  a  single  term.  If  they  have  kept  one 
term  without  corporal  punishment,  they  are  very  likely 
to  instruct  their  seniors  with  their  experience ;  and  if 
they  have  happened  to  be  so  situated  as  to  be  compelled 
to  save  themselves  by  th%  rod,  why  then  too  their  ex- 
perience forever  settles  the  question.  It  requires  the 
experience  of  more  than  one,  or  two,  or  three  schools  to 
enable  a  man  to  speak  dogmatically  on  this  subject ;  and 
I  always  smile  when  I  hear  men,  and  sometimes  very 
young  men,  who  have  never  kept  school  in  their  lives, 
perhaps,  or  at  most  but  a  single  term,  speaking  as  with 
the  voice  of  authority.  Experience  is  indeed  one  of  our 
safest  guides  in  this  as  in  every  other  matter  ;  but  they 
who  tell  their  experience  should  at  least  wait  till  they 
have  that  which  is  ivorthy  to  be  told. 

A  False  Position. — There  is  another  point.  It  is 
quite  fashionable  at  the  present  day,  whenever  this  sub- 
ject is  to  be  discussed,  to  propose  the  matter  in  the  form 
of  a  resolution;  as,  "  Resolved,  that  no  person  is  fit  to 
be  employed  as  a  teacher  who  cannot  govern  his 
scholars  by  holier  means  than  bodily  chastisement  ;"  or, 
"  Resolved,  that  no  limit  should  be  set  to  the  teacher's 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT.  193 

right  to  use  the  '  rod  of  correction,'  and  that  they  who 
denounce  the  teachers  for  resorting  to  it  are  unworthy 
of  our  confidence  in  matters  of  education."  Now  who- 
ever presents  the  question  in  this  form  assumes  that  he 
has  drawn  a  line  through  the  very  core  of  the  truth  ; 
and  he  undertakes  to  censure  all  those  who  are  unwilling 
to  square  their  opinions  by  the  line  thus  drawn.  In  the 
discussion  a  man  must  take  one  side  or  the  other  of  the 
question  as  it  is  proposed,  and  consequently  he  may  take 
a  false  position.  The  better  way  would  be  to  present 
the  whole  subject  as  matter  of  free  remark,  and  thus  leave 
every  one  to  present  his  own  views  honestly  as  they  lie  in 
his  own  mind.  In  this  \vay  no  one  is  pledged  to  this  or 
that  party,  but  is  left  unprejudiced  to  discover  and  em- 
brace the  truth  wherever  it  is  found. 

French  Resolution, — It  should  moreover  be  remem- 
bered that  resolving\>y  the  vote  of  a  meeting,  in  order  to 
force  public  opinion,  can  never  affect  the  truth.  A  few 
impious,  heaven-daring  men  in  France,  at  one  of  their 
revels,  once  resolved,  "  THERE  IS  NO  GOD  ! " — but  did 
this  blasphemous  breath  efface  the  impress  of  Deity 
on  all  this  fair  creation  of  His  power?  And  when  they 
rose  from  their  vile  debauch  and  sought  with  tottering 
step  to  leave  the  scene  of  madness  and  to  court  the  dim 
forgetfulness  of  sleep — rolled  not  the  shining  orbs  in 
heaven's  high  arch  above  them  as  much  in  duty  to  His 
will,  as  when  they  sang  together  to  usher  in  creation's 
morning?  So  it  will  ever  be  I  Men  may  declare  and 
resolve  as  they  please  \  but  truth  is  eternal  and  unchange- 
able ;  and  they  are  the  wisest  men  who  modestly  seek  to 
find  her  as  she  is,  and  not  as  their  perverted  imaginations 
would  presume  to  paint  her. 


I 

194  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

A  More  Excellent  Way.— Yet  after  all,  in  the  govern- 
ment of  schools,  there  is  a  more  excellent  way.  There 
are  usually  easier  avenues  to  the  heart  than  that  which 
is  found  through  the  integuments  of  the  body.  Happy 
is  that  teacher  who  is  so  skillful  as  to  find  them ;  and 
gladly  would  I  welcome  the  day  when  the  number  of 
such  skillful  and  devoted  teachers  should  render  any 
further  defence  of  the  rod  superfluous.  Although  I  be- 
lieve that  day  has  not  yet  arrived,  still,  in  the  mean- 
time, I  most  earnestly  urge  all  teachers  to  strive  to 
reach  the  higher  motives  and  the  finer  feelings  of  the 
young,  and  to  rely  mainly  for  success,  not  upon  appeals 
to  fear  and  force,  but  upon  the  power  of  conscience  and 
the  law  of  reciprocal  affection. 

Higher  Motives  First. — As  I  have  placed  the  higher 
motives  and  the  more  desirable  means  first  in  order  in 
these  remarks  on  government,  so  I  would  always  have 
them  first,  and  perseveringly  employed  by  the  teacher  ; 
and  if  by  earnestness  in  his  work,  by  unfeigned  love  for 
the  young,  by  diligence  in  the  study  of  their  natures, 
and  the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends  which  true  benevo- 
lence is  sure  to  suggest,  he  can  govern  successfully  with- 
out corporal  punishment, — as  in  a  large  proportion  of 
cases  I  believe  it  can  be  done, — none  will  rejoice  more 
than  I  at  such  a  desirable  result ;  and  I  most  cordially 
subscribe  to  the  principle  so'  happily  stated  by  another, 
that  in  the  government  of  schools,  if  thorough  obedience 
be  but  secured  and  order  maintained,  other  things  being 
equal,  "THE  MINIMUM  OF  PUNISHMENT  IS  THE  MAXI- 
MUM OF  EXCELLENCE." 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  195 


CHAPTER  X. 

SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS. 

Forethought. — Every  teacher,  before  opening  a  school, 
should  have  some  general  plan  in  his  mind  of  what  he 
intends  to  accomplish.  In  every  enterprise  there  is 
great  advantage  to  be  derived  from  forethought ;  and 
perhaps  nowhere  is  the  advantage  greater  than  in  the 
business  of  teaching.  The  day  of  opening  a  school  is  an 
eventful  day  to  the  young  teacher.  A  thousand  things 
crowd  upon  him  at  the  same  time,  and  each  demands  a 
prompt  and  judicious  action  on  his  part.  The  children 
to  the  number  of  half  a  hundred  all  turn  their  inquiring 
eyes  to  him  for  occupation  and  direction.  They  have 
come  full  of  interest  in  the  prospects  of  the  new  school, 
ready  to  engage  cheerfully  in  whatever  plans  the  teacher 
may  have  to  propose ;  and,  I  was  about  to  say,  just  as 
ready  to  arrange  and  carry  into  effect  their  own  plans  of 
disorder  and  misrule,  if  they,  unhappily  for  him  and  for 
themselves,  find  he  has  no  system  to  introduce. 

An  Eventful  Moment. — What  a  critical — what  an 
eventful  moment  is  this  first  day  of  the  term  to  all  con- 
cerned !  The  teacher's  success  and  usefulness — nay,  his 
reputation  as  an  efficient  instructor — now  "  hang  upon 
the  decision  of  an  hour."  An  hour,  too,  may  almost 
foretell  whether  the  precious  season  of  childhood  and 
youth  now  before  these  immortals  is  to  be  a  season  of 
profit  and  healthful  culture  under  a  judicious  hand,  or  a 
season  of  wasted — perhaps  worse  than  wasted — existence, 


196  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

under  the  imbecility  or  misguidance  of  one  who  "knows 
not  what  he  does  or  what  he  deals  with.'' 

Angelic  Solicitude. — If  angels  ever  visit  our  earth  and 
hover  unseen  around  the  gatherings  of  mortals  to  survey 
their  actions  and  contemplate  their  destiny  as  affected 
by  human  instrumentality,  it  seems  to  me  there  can  be 
no  spectacle  so  calculated  to  awaken  their  interest  and 
enkindle  their  sympathy  as  when  they  see  the  young 
gathering  together  from  their  scattered  homes  in  some 
rural  district,  to  receive  an  impress,  for  weal  or  woe,  from 
the  hand  of  him  who  has  undertaken  to  guide  them. 
And,  supposing  them  to  have  the  power  to  appreciate  to 
the  full  extent  the  consequences  of  human  agency,  how 
must  they  be  touched  with  emotions  of  joy  and  gratitude, 
or  shudder  with  those  of  horror  and  dread,  as  they  wit- 
ness the  alternations  of  wisdom  and  folly,  seriousness  and 
indifference,  sincerity  and  duplicity,  purity  and  defile- 
ment, exhibited  by  him  who  has  assumed  to  be  at  once 
the  director  and  exemplar  in  the  formation  of  human 
character  at  such  an  important  period ! 

Low  Qualifications. — How  deplorable  is  the  thought 
that  all  the  fond  hopes  of  the  parents,  all  the  worthy 
aspirings  of  the  children,  and  all  the  thrilling  interests  of 
higher  beings,  are  so  often  to  be  answered  by  qualifica- 
tions so  scanty,  and  by  a  spirit  so  indifferent  in  the 
teacher  of  the  young  !  How  sad  the  thought  that  up  to 
this  very  moment  so  pregnant  with  consequences  to  all 
concerned,  there  has  been  too  often  so  little  of  prepara- 
ration  for  the  responsibility! 

A  Plan  for  the  First  Day. — I  fain  would  impress 
the  young  teacher  with  the  importance  of  having  a 
plan  for  even  the  first  day  of  the  school.  It  will  raise 
him  surprisingly  in  the  estimation  of  the  pupils  and 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  197 

also  of  the  parents,  if  he  can  make  an  expeditious  and 
efficient  beginning  of  the  school.  While  the  dull  teacher 
is  slowly  devising  the  plans  he  will  by  and  by  present 
for  the  employment  and  improvement  of  his  school,  the 
children  taking  advantage  of  their  own  exemption  from 
labor,  very  promptly  introduce  their  own  plans  for 
amusing  themselves  or  for  annoying  him  ; — whereas  if 
he  could  but  have  his  own  plans  already  made,  and 
could  promptly  and  efficiently  carry  them  into  execution, 
he  would  forestall  their  mischievous  designs,  and  make 
co-operators  out  of  his  opposers. 

Important  Inquiries. — In  order  to  be  sure  of  a  suc- 
cessful commencement,  I  would  recommend  that  the 
teacher  should  go  into  the  district  a  few  days  before 
the  school  is  to  begin.  By  careful  inquiry  of  the  trustees 
or  the  school  committee,  he  can  ascertain  what  is  the 
character  of  the  district  and  the  wants  of  the  school. 
This  will  afford  him  considerable  aid.  But  he  should  do 
more  than  this.  He  would  do  well  to  call  on  several  of 
the  families  of  the  district  whose  children  are  to  become 
members  of  his  school.  This  he  can  do  without  any 
ceremony,  simply  saying  to  them  that,  as  he  has  been 
appointed  their  teacher,  he  is  desirous  as  far  as  he  may 
to  ascertain  their  wants,  in  order  to  be  as  prompt  as 
possible  in  the  organization  of  his  school.  He  will  of 
course  see  the  children  themselves.  From  them  he  can 
learn  what  was  the  organization  of  the  school  under  his 
predecessor ;  how  many  studied  geography,  how  many 
arithmetic,  grammar,  etc.;  and  he  can  also  learn 
whether  the  former  organization  was  satisfactoiy  to  the 
district  or  not.  The  modes  of  government,  and  the 
methods  of  interesting  the  pupils  practised  by  the 
former  teacher,  would  be  likely  to  be  detailed  to  him 


198  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

and,  from  the  manner  of  both  parents  and  children,  he 
could  judge  whether  similar  methods  would  still  be  de- 
sirable in  the  district.  By  calling  on  several  of  the 
largest  families  in  this  way,  he  would  learn  beforehand 
very  accurately  the  state  of  the  school  and  the  state  of 
the  district. 

Caution  Against  Meanness. — I  will  take  this  occasion 
to  insist  that  the  teacher,  in  these  visits,  should  heartily 
discourage  any  forwardness,  so  common  among  children, 
to  disparage  a  former  teacher.  It  should  be  his  sole  ob- 
ject to  gain  useful  information.  He  should  give  no  signs 
of  pleasure  in  listening  to  any  unfavorable  statements  as 
to  his  predecessor  ;  and  I  may  add  that,  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  school,  he  should  ever  frown  upon  any 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  to  make  comparisons 
derogatory  to  a  former  teacher.  This  is  a  practice  alto- 
gether too  prevalent  in  our  schools ;  and,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  there  are  still  too  many  teachers  who  are  mean 
enough  to  countenance  it.  Such  a  course  is  unfair,  be- 
cause the  absent  party  may  be  grossly  misrepresented  ; 
it  is  dangerous  because  it  tends  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of 
detraction  in  the  young  ;  and  it  is  mean  because  the  party 
is  absent,  and  has  no  opportunity  of  defending  himself. 

Making  Personal  Friends. — Another  important  ad- 
vantage of  the  visits  proposed  would  be,  that  he  would 
make  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  the  children  before- 
hand ;  and  very  likely,  too,  if  he  should  go  in  the  right 
spirit  and  with  agreeable  manners,  he  would  make  a 
favorable  impression  upon  them,  and  thus  he  would  have 
personal  friends  on  his  side  to  begin  with.  The  parents, 
too,  would  see  that  he  took  an  interest  in  his  employment; 
that  he  had  come  among  them  in  the  spirit  of  his  voca- 
tion,— in  the  spirit  of  earnestness, — and  they  would  be- 


SCHOOL   ARRANGEMENTS.  199 

come  interested  in  his  success — a  point  of  no  small  im- 
portance. 

A  Common  Error. — I  might  here  caution  the  teacher 
against  a  very  common  error.  He  should  not  confine  his 
visits  to  the  more  wealthy  and  influential  families.  The 
poor  and  the  humble  should  receive  his  attentions  as  soon 
as  the  rich.  From  the  latter  class  very  likely  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  school  will  come  ;  and  it  is  wrong  in  principle 
as  well  as  policy  to  neglect  those  who  have  not  been  as 
successful  as  others  in  the  one  item  of  accumulating  prop- 
erty. 

Early  at  the  School. — On  the  day  of  opening  the 
school  he  should  be  early  at  the  school-house.  Mr. 
Abbot,  in  his  "  Teacher,"  has  some  valuable  suggestions 
on  this  point.  "  It  is  desirable,"  he  says,  *'  that  the  young 
teacher  should  meet  his  scholars  at  first  in  an  unofficial 
capacity.  For  this  purpose  he  should  repair  to  the 
schoolroom,  on  the  first  day,  at  an  early  hour,  so  as  to 
see  and  become  acquainted  with  the  scholars  as  they 
come  in,  one  by  one.  He  may  take  an  interest  with 
them  in  all  the  little  arrangements  connected  with  the 
opening  of  the  school.  The  building  of  the  fire,  the 
paths  through  the  snow,  the  arrangements  of  seats,  call- 
ing upon  them  for  information  or  aid,  asking  their 
names,  and,  in  a  word,  entering  fully  and  freely  into 
conversation  with  them,  just  as  a  parent,  under  similar 
cir-cumstances,  would  do  with  his  children.  All  the 
children  thus  addressed  will  be  pleased  with  the  gentle- 
ness and  affability  of  the  teacher,  Even  a  rough  and 
ill-natured  boy,  who  has  perhaps  come  to  the  school 
with  the  express  determination  of  attempting  to  make 
mischief,  will  be  completely  disarmed  by  being  asked 
pleasantly  to  help  the  teacher  fix  the  fire,  or  alter  the 


200  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

position  of  a  desk.  Thus  by  means  of  the  half  hour 
during  which  the  scholars  are  coming  together,  the 
teacher  will  find,  when  he  calls  upon  the  children  to  take 
their  seats,  that  he  has  made  a  large  number  of  them  his 
personal  friends.  Many  of  these  will  have  communi- 
cated their  first  impressions  to  others,  so  that  he  will 
find  himself  possessed,  at  the  outset,  of  that  which  is  of 
vital  consequence  in  opening  any  administration — a 
strong  party  in  his  favor." 

Roguery  Promoted. — It  will  be  well  for  the  teacher, 
for  several  days,  both  in  the  morning  and  afternoon,  to 
be  early  at  the  schoolroom.  He  can  thus  continue  his 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  pupils,  and  effectually  pre- 
vent any  concerted  action  among  them  at  that  hour  to 
embarrass  his  government.  Many  a  school  has  been 
seriously  injured,  if  not  broken  up  by  the  scholars 
being  allowed  to  assemble  early  at  the  school  with  noth- 
ing to  occupy  them  and  no  one  to  restrain  them.  Having 
so  convenient  an  opportunity  for  mischief,  their  youth- 
ful activity  will  be  very  likely  to  find  egress  in  an  evil 
direction.  Many  a  tale  of  roguery  could  be  told  founded 
upon  the  incidents  of  the  schoolroom  before  school 
hours,  if  those  who  have  good  memories  would  but 
reveal  their  own  experience — roguery  that  never  would 
have  occurred  had  the  teacher  adopted  the  course  here 
suggested. 

SECTION    I.      PLAN  OF  THE  DAY'S  WORK. 

"What  Shall  I  Do?"— It  will  be  remembered  by 
many  of  the  readers  of  this  volume  that  in  former  times 
numerous  teachers  were  accustomed  to  work  without  a 
plan,  attempting  to  do  their  work  just  as  it  happened  to 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  201 

demand  attention,  but  never  taking  the  precaution  to 
have  this  demand  under  their  own  control.  If  one 
scholar  or  class  were  not  ready  to  recite,  another  would 
be  called  ;  and  there  being  no  particular  time  for  the  va- 
rious exercises,  the  school  would  become  a  scene  of  mere 
listlessness  ;  and  the  teacher  would  hardly  know  how  to 
find  employment  for  himself  in  the  school. 

A  Day's  Work. — An  Example. — I  shall  make  this 
point  clearer  by  an  example.  Having  occasion,  in  an 
official  capacity,  to  visit  a  school  which  had  been  kept  by 
a  young  teacher  some  two  weeks,  she  very  naturally 
asked,  "  What  shall  I  do  first  this  afternoon  ?" 

"  Do  precisely  as  you  would  if  I  had  not  come  in,"  was 
the  reply. 

She  looked  a  little  perplexed.  At  length  she  doubt- 
ingly  asked,  "  Is  the  Geography  lesson  ready?" 

"  Yes,  m'm  " — "  No,  m'm  " — "  Yes,  m'm  " — was  the 
ambiguous  reply  from  the  class.  There  was  so  much  of 
veto  in  the  looks  of  the  young  geographers  that  it 
amounted  to  prohibition. 

"  Well,  are  the  scholars  in  Colburn's  Arithmetic 
ready  ?" 

This  was  said  with  more  of  hope  ;  but  the  same  equiv- 
ocal answer  was  vociferated  from  all  parts  of  the  room. 

The  teacher,  placing  her  finger  upon  her  lip,  looked 
despairingly ;  but  recollecting  one  more  resort,  she  said, 
•'  Is  the  Grammar  class  ready  ?'' 

Again  came  the  changes  on  "  Yes,  m'm,"  and  "  No, 
m'm." 

The  teacher  gave  up,  and  asked  what  she  should  do. 
She  was  again  told  to  go  on  as  usual  for  that  afternoon. 
It  was  a  tedious^afternoon  to  her,  as  it  was  to  her  visitor. 
She  at  length  called  one  of  the  classes,  unprepared  as 


•:M-.'  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

many  of  them  said  they  were,  and  the  exercise  showed 
that  none  but  those  who  said  "Yes,  m'm"  were  mis- 
taken. The  whole  afternoon  seemed  to  be  one  of  pain 
and  mortification  to  all  concerned ;  and  I  fancied  I 
could  almost  read  in  the  knitted  brow  of  the  teacher  a 
declaration  that  that  should  be  her  last  school. 

A  Hint  Given. — At  the  close  of  the  afternoon,  a  single 
hint  was  suggested  to  her, — viz.,  that  she  should  make 
out  a  list  of  her  scholars'  duties,  and  the  times  when 
they  should  be  expected  to  recite  their  several  lessons. 
She  was  told  that  it  would  be  well  to  explain  this  plan 
of  her  day's  work  to  her  school  in  the  morning,  and 
then  never  again  ask  whether  a  class  was  ready.  The 
hint  was  taken:  and  on  subsequent  visitations  the  several 
classes  were  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of  their 
instructor. 

Now  this  matter  is  no  unimportant  one  to  the  teacher. 
Indeed,  I  judge  of  a  teacher's  ability  very  much  by  the 
wisdom  and  tact  with  which  he  apportions  his  time  for 
his  own  duties,  and  divides  the  time  of  his  scholars  be- 
tween their  studies  and  recitations. 

A  Case  Supposed.— In  order  to  aid  the  young  teacher 
in  forming  a  plan  for  himself,  I  subjoin  a  scheme  of  a 
days  duties,  adapted  to  a  school  of  the  simplest  grade. 
Suppose  a  school  to  consist  of  thirty  scholars,  and  that 
the  teacher  finds  by  inquiry  and  by  examination  that 
there  may  be  four  grand  divisions  :  the  first,  which  he 
designates  [A],  may  unite  in  pursuing  Reading,  Gram- 
mar, Mental  Arithmetic,  Written  Arithmetic,  and  Writ- 
ing ;  the  second  [B] .  can  pursue  Reading,  Spelling, 
Writing,  Geography,  Mental  and  Written  Arithmetic  ; 
the  third  [C]  attend  to  Reading,  Spelling,  Mental 
Arithmetic,  Writing,  and  Geography ;  the  fourth  [D]x 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  203 

consisting  of  the  small  pupils,  attend  to  Reading,  Spell- 
ing, Tables,  and  sundry  slate  exercises. 

Classification — A  Scheme. — Now  it  is  very  desirable 
that  as  much  time  should  be  devoted  to  recitation  as  can 
be  afforded  to  each  class.  It  may  be  seen  at  once  that 
in  certain  studies,  as  geography,  mental  arithmetic,  and 
spelling,  the  teacher  can  as  well  attend  to  fifteen  at  once 
as  to  seven.  In  these  studies,  unless  the  disparity  in  age 
and  attainment  is  very  great,  two  divisions  can  very 
properly  be  united.  All  can  be  taught  writing  at  once, 
thus  receiving  the  teacher's  undivided  attention  for  the 
time.  Besides,  it  is  necessary  to  reserve  some  little  time 
for  change  of  exercises,  and  also  for  the  interruptions 
which  must  necessarily  occur.  The  recesses  are  to  be 
provided  for,  and  some  time  may  be  needed  for  investi- 
gation of  violations  of  duty,  and  for  the  punishment  of 
offenders.  All  this  variety  of  work  will  occur  in  every 
school,  even  the  smallest.  Now,  if  the  teacher  does  not 
arrange  this  in  accordance  with  some  plan,  he  will  be 
very  much  perplexed,  even  in  a  small  school ;  and  how 
much  more  in  a  large  one !  He  will  do  well  very  care- 
fully to  consider  the  relative  importance  of  each  exercise 
to  be  attended  to,  and  then  to  write  out  his  scheme  some- 
what after  the  following  model.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  studying  is  also  to  be  provided  for,  and  that  it  is  just 
as  important  that  the  pupil  should  be  regular  in  this  as 
in  recitation.  Indeed,  without  such  regularity  he  cannot 
expect  acceptable  recitations. 


204  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

PROGRAM 

FOR  THE  ABOVE  SUPPOSED  CIRCUMSTANCES. 


Time. 

M. 

Recitations,  etc. 

Studies. 

9  to  9.15 

15 

READING  SCRIPT.,  &  PRAYER. 

9.15  to  9.40 

as 

I  D.  Reading,  Spelling,  or  ) 
}        Tables.                           j 

A.  Reading;    B.  Arith.; 
C.  Geography. 

9.40  to  9.43 

9 

REST,  CHANGE  OF  CLASSES,ETC. 

0.42  tO  10 

18 

A.  Reading. 

(B.    Arith.;    C.    Geog.; 
\     D.  Slates. 

10  to  10.5 

5 

/REST,  SINGING,  OR  ANSWER- 
(    ING  QUESTIONS. 

10.5  to  10.25 

30 

B.  Arithmetic. 

(A.    Gram.;    C.    Geog.; 
1      D.  Books  or  Cards. 

10.25  ^°  10.28 

3 

REST,  ETC. 

10.28  to  10.48 

30 

B.  and  C.  Geography. 

A.  Gram.;  D.  Recess. 

10.48  tOII 

13 

RECESS. 

II  tO  II.IS 

11.15  to  11.35 
11.35  to  11.50 

'5 

30 
'5 

D.  Reading  etc. 
A.  Grammar. 
B.  and  C.  Spelling. 

(A.  Gram.  ;B.M.  Arith.; 
)     C.  Spelling. 
JB.    Spelling;    C.  Spell- 
I     ing;  D.  Slates. 
j  A.  M.  Arith.;  D.  Books 
I     or  Cards. 

11.50  tO  12 

IO 

GENERAL  EXERCISE. 

Intermission  . 

3  tO  3.15 

3.15  to  3.45 
2.45  to  3.10 

}.io  to  3.30 

15 

30 
25 

30 

D.  Reading,  Spelling,  Tables. 

A.  B.  and  C.  Writing. 
A.  and  B.  Mental  Arithmetic. 

C.  Reading. 

/A.  Arith.;  B.  Reading; 
\     C.  Reading. 
D.  Slates. 
C.  M.  Arith.;  D.  Recess. 
I  A.   Arith.;     B.   Arith.; 
\     D.  Books,  etc. 

3.3010  3.40 

10 

RECESS. 

3.40  tO  4 

30 

B.  Reading. 

(A.  Arith.  ;C.M.  Arith.; 
(     D.  Drawing. 

4  to  4.5 

5 

REST,  OR  SINGING. 

4-5  to  4.35 

4-SS  tO  4.35 

30 
3<> 

C.  Mental  Arithmetic. 
A.  Arithmetic. 

j  A.  Read.;  B.  Arith.  or 
(     Draw.;  D.  Slates. 
j  B.  Arith.  or  Draw.;  C. 
1     Draw.;  D.  Dismissed. 

V35  to  5 

5 

GEN.  EXER.  AND  DISMISSION. 

SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  205 

Remarks. 

Benefits  of  a  Clock.— In  the  foregoing  program,  the 
first  column  shows  the  division  of  time,  and  the  portion 
allowed  to  each  exercise.  I  need  not  say  the  teacher 
should  be  strictly  punctual.  To  this  end  a  clock  is  a 
very  desirable  article  in  the  school.  Both  teacher  and 
pupils  would  be  benefited  by  it.  The  second  column 
shows  the  recitations,  admitting  perhaps  some  variety, 
especially  in  case  of  the  younger  children  ;  while  the  third 
shows  the  occupation  of  those  classes  which  are  not  en- 
gaged in  recitation. 

Study  Provided  for. — It  will  be  seen  that  the  classes 
are  studying  those  lessons  which  they  are  soon  to  recite; 
and,  as  in  this  case  it  is  supposed  that  all  the  lessons  will 
be  learned  in  school,  each  one  has  been  provided  for. 
It  would  be  well,  however,  in  practice  to  require  one  of 
the  studies  to  be  learned  out  of  school,  in  Which  case 
no  time  should  be  allowed  to  the  study  of  that  branch  in 
the  program. 

Drawing. — It  will  be  perceived  that  drawing  is  placed 
as  the  occupation  of  the  younger  classes  near  the  close 
of  the  afternoon.  This  is  based  upon  the  supposition 
thar  the  teacher  during  recess  has  placed  an  example  on 
the  blackboard,  to  be  copied  by  the  children  upon  their 
slates  This  is  perhaps  the  most  effectual  way  to  teach 
drawing  to  children.  Those  more  advanced,  however, 
may  use  paper  and  pencil,  and  draw  from  an  engraved 
copy,  or  from  a  more  finished  specimen  furnished  from 
the  teacher's  portfolio.  It  is  essential  that  the  teacher 
should,  if  possible,  give  some  specimens  of  his  own  in 
this  branch.  I  have  seldom  known  a  teacher  to  excite 
an  interest  in  drawing  who  relied  altogether  upon  engrav- 
ings as  models  for  imitation. 


MM  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

An  Assistant.— It  should  be  remarked  further,  con- 
cerning such  a  program,  that  in  case  of  an  assistant  in  the 
school,  two  columns  under  the  head  of  Recitations  should 
be  formed — one  for  the  principal's  classes,  and  one  for  the 
assistant's.  If  there  are  a  few  talented  scholars,  who  are 
able  to  do  more  than  their  class,  they  can  be  allowed  to 
join  some  of  the  classes  out  of  their  division,  or  they  may 
be  provided  with  an  extra  study  which  will  not  need 
daily  recitation. 

Alternation. — In  case  the  school  is  much  larger  than 
the  one  supposed  above,  and  the  classes  necessarily  so 
numerous  as  to  make  the  time  allowed  to  each  study  very 
short,  then  the  principle  of  alternation  may  be  intro- 
duced ;  that  is,  some  studies  may  be  recited  Mondays, 
Wednesdays,  and  Fridays, — and  some  other  studies,  with 
other  classes,  take  their  places  on  the  alternate  days.  It 
is  decidedly  better  for  the  teacher  to  meet  a  class,  in 
arithmetic  for  instance,  especially  of  older  pupils,  but 
twice  or  three  times  a  week,  having  time  enough  at  each 
meeting  to  make  thorough  work,  than  to  meet  them 
daily,  but  fora  time  so  short  as  to  accomplish  but  little. 
The  same  remark  may  be  applied  to  reading,  and  indeed 
almost  any  other  branch. 

Thorough  Work  ;  Nibbling.— The  idea  is  a  mischiev- 
ous one,  that  every  class  in  reading,  or  in  any  other 
branch,  must  be  called  out  four  times  a  day,  or  even 
twice  a  day — except  in  the  case  of  very  young  children. 
It  may  be  compared  to  nibbling  at  a  cracker  as  many 
times  in  a  day,  without  once  taking  a  hearty  meal — a 
process  which  would  emaciate  any  child  in  the  course  of 
three  months.  These  scanty  nibblings  at  the  table  of 
knowledge,  so  often  and  so  tenaciously  practiced,  may 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  207 

perhaps  account  for  the  mental  emaciation  so  often  dis- 
coverable in  many  of  our  schools. 

Difficulty  of  Classifying. — The  difficulty  of  classify- 
ing and  arranging  the  exercises  of  a  school  becomes 
greater  as  the  number  of  teachers  employed  increases ; 
and  there  is  much  greater  inconvenience  in  allowing  any 
pupils  to  study  out  of  their  own  division  when  the  num- 
ber of  teachers  is  more  than  one  or  two.  Few  are  aware 
of  the  difficulty  of  arranging  the  exercises  of  a  large 
school  but  those  who  have  experienced  it.  It  can  be  done, 
however ;  and  it  should  always  be  done  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble after  commencing  the  school. 

Way  to  Correct  a  Scheme. — If  at  any  time  the  ar- 
rangement when  made  is  not  found  to  be  perfect,  it  is 
not  wise  to  change  it  at  once.  Let  it  go  on  a  few  days, 
and  watch  its  defects  with  great  care  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time study,  out  of  school,  to  devise  a  better.  When  this 
has  been  accomplished  and  committed  to  paper,  and 
perfectly  comprehended  by  the  teacher,  it  may  be  posted 
up  in  the  schoolroom,  and  the  day  announced  when  it 
will  go  into  operation.  It  will  soon  be  understood  by 
the  pupils,  and  the  change  can  thus  be  made  without  the 
loss  of  time. 

Time  for  Reviews. — Time  for  reviews  of  the  various 
lessons  could  be  found  by  setting  aside  the  regular  lessons 
for  some  particular  day,  once  a  week,  or  once  in  two 
weeks ;  and  for  composition,  declamation,  etc.,  a  half  day 
should  be  occasionally  or  periodically  assigned. 

Models  Not  to  be  Copied;  Teacher  Must  Think.— 
If  I  have  devoted  considerable  space  to  this  subject,  it 
is  because  I  deem  it  of  very  great  importance  to  the 
teacher's  success.  With  one  other  remark  I  dismiss  it. 
These  models  are  not  given  to  be  servilely  copied.  They 


•Ji.K  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

are  given  to  illustrate  the  great  principle.  The  circum- 
stances of  schools  will  be  found  to  vary  so  widely  that 
no  model,  however  perfect  in  itself,  would  answer  for  all. 
The  teacher  must  exercise  his  own  ingenuity  and  judg- 
ment to  meet  his  own  wants  ;  and  in  general  it  may  be 
remarked  that,  where  a  teacher  has  not  the  skill  to  adapt 
his  own  plans  to  his  own  circumstances,  he  can  hardly  be 
expected  to  succeed  in  carrying  out  the  plans  of  another. 

SECTION   II.      INTERRUPTIONS. 

Unavoidable  Interruptions. — In  every  school  consist- 
ing of  pupils  of  different  ages  and  circumstances,  there 
will  be  more  or  less  of  interruption  to  the  general  order 
and  employment  of  the  school.  Some  of  the  pupils 
have  never  been  trained  to  system  at  home ;  perhaps 
most  of  them  may  have  been  positively  taught  to  dis- 
regard it  at  school.  At  any  rate,  "  it  must  needs  be,"  in 
this  particular,  "  that  offences  come."  Nor  should  the 
teacher  lose  his  patience,  though  he  should  be  often 
disturbed  by  the  thoughtlessness  of  his  pupils.  He 
should  expect  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  exercise  his 
ingenuity  as  far  as  possible  to  prevent  it.  It  may  well 
be  one  of  his  sources  of  enjoyment  to  witness  an 
improvement  in  the  habits  of  his  pupils  in  regard  to 
system. 

Causes  of  Interruptions. — These  interruptions  pro- 
ceed from  various  causes — such  as  soliciting  leave  to 
speak,  or  to  go  out ;  asking  for  some  assistance  in  learn- 
ing lessons,  or  for  leave  to  drink,  or  to  stand  by  the  fire  ; 
requesting  the  teacher  to  mend  pens,  or  to  set  copies ; 
disorderly  conduct  in  pupils,  making  it  necessary,  in  his 
judgment,  to  administer  reproof  or  punishment  in  the 
midst  of  other  duties, — and  sometimes  the  vociferous  and 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  209 

impatient   making  of  complaints  by  one  scholar  against 
another. 

A  Scene  from  Nature. — How  many  times  I  have  seen 
a  teacher  involved  in  indescribable  perplexity  while  try- 
ing to  perform  the  duty  of  instruction,  and  to  "  get 
through"  in  time.  While  hearing  a  grammar  lesson,  a 
scholar  brings  up  his  atlas  to  have  some  place  pointed 
out  which  he  had  upon  one  trial  failed  to  find.  The 
teacher,  turning  to  look  for  the  place,  is  addressed  with, 
"  Please  mend  my  pen,"  from  another  quarter.  Having 
the  knife  in  hand,  as  if  such  things  were  to  be  expected, 
the  obliging  teacher  takes  the  pen,  and  holding  it  be- 
tween his  eyes  and  the  atlas,  endeavors  to  shape  its  nib 
and  to  discover  the  city  at  the  same  glance.  "Jane 
keeps  a-pinching  me ! "  vociferates  a  little  girl  who  is 
seated  behind  the  class.  "  Jane,  Jane  !  "  says  the  teacher, 
turning  away  from  both  the  nib  and  the  city,  "Jane, 
come  to  me  instantly  ! "  Jane  with  the  guilty  fingers 
thrust  far  into  her  mouth  makes  her  way  sidling 
towards  the  teacher.  "May  I  go  out?"  says  John, 
who  is  thinking  only  of  his  own  convenience.  "  No, 
no  ! "  answers  the  teacher,  a  little  pettishly,  as  if  con- 
scious that,  in  a  crisis  like  this,  a  request  simply  to 
breathe  more  freely  is  scarcely  justifiable.  "  Please, 
sir,  let  me  and  Charles  go  out  and  get  a  pail  of  water." 
This  is  said  by  a  little  shrewd-looking,  round-faced, 
light-haired  boy,  who  has  learned  how  to  select  his 
time,  and  to  place  the  emphasis  on  the  "please,  sir," 
The  teacher  by  this  time,  being  considerably  fretted  by 
such  an  accumulation  of  business  on  his  hands,  very 
naturally  thinks  of  the  refreshment  contained  in  a  pail 
of  cool  water,  and  very  good-naturedly  answers  the  little 
urchin  in  the  affirmative,  who  most  likely  is  by  this  time 


TI1KORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

more  than  half-way  out  of  the  door,  so  confident  is  he  of 
success.  Just  at  this  juncture  a  considerate-looking  miss 
in  the  class  earnestly  appeals  to*  the  teacher  to  know  if 
the  word  next  but  three  to  the  last  was  not  a  common 
noun,  though  called  a  conjunction  \  This  reminds  the 
teacher  that  several  words  have  been  parsed  without  his 
notice,  and  he  asks  the  class  to  "stop  there."  Glancing 
at  his  watch,  he  discovers  that  he  has  gone  three  minutes 
beyond  the  time  for  recess,  and  he  relieves  himself  by 
saying,  "  Boys  may  go  out."  This  grants  a  truce  to  all 
parties.  The  pen  goes  back  unmended  ;  the  atlas  with  its 
sought  city  undiscovered ;  John  "  goes  out ''  now  by 
common  law,  taking  to  himself  the  credit  of  this  happy 
release,  as  he  asked  only  to  remind  the  master  that  it  was 
time  for  recess  ;  Jane  takes  both  thumb  and  finger  from 
her  precious  little  mouth,  and  smiling  seats  herself  by  the 
side  of  her  late  challenger,  who  is  by  this  time  more  than 
half  repentant  of  her  own  impatience;  the  shrewd-looking 
urchin  and  his  companion  return  with  the  refreshing  pail 
of  water;  the  boys  and  girls  gather  round  to  obtain  the 
first  draught,  while  the  little  chubby-faced  lad  comes  for- 
ward clothed  in  smiles,  with  a  cup  filled  with  the  cooling 
liquid  on  purpose  for  the  master ;  the  boon  is  accepted, 
the  perplexed  brow  becomes  placid,  and  all  is  sun- 
shine again  This  is  not  a  very  extravagant  picture 
of  the  interruptions  in  a  district  school.  Those  who 
have  been  brought  up  in  such  a  school  will  recognize 
\.\i^  fidelity  of  the  likeness,  as  it  has  been  drawn  from 
Nature. 

Lancaster's  Motto. — Now  whoever  has  any  knowledge 
of  human  nature  and  of  school-teaching  will  at  once 
see  that  this  is  all  wrong.  It  is  a  law  of  our  being  that 
we  can  do  well  but  one  thing  at  a  time.  He  who 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  211 

attempts  more  must  do  what  he  attempts  but  very  im- 
perfectly. There  was  a  great  deal  of  wisdom  embodied 
in  that  motto  which  used  to  be  placed  in  the  old  Lan- 
casterian  schools:  "A  TIME  FOR  EVERYTHING,  AND 
EVERYTHING  IN  ITS  TIME."  It  should  be  one  of  the 
mottoes  of  every  teacher.  In  the  construction  of  the 
plan  or  program  for  the  day's  duties,  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  provide  for  all  these  little  things.  If  whis- 
pering is  to  be  allowed  at  all  in  school,  let  it  come  into 
one  of  the  intervals  between  recitations.  If  assistance 
in  getting  lessons  is  to  be  asked  and  rendered,  let  it  be 
done  at  a  time  assigned  for  the  special  purpose.  As  far 
as  possible,  except  in  extreme  cases,  let  the  discipline  be 
attended  to  at  the  time  of  general  exercise,  or  some 
other  period  assigned  to  it,  so  that  there  shall  not  be  a 
ludicrous  mixture  of  punishments  and  instruction  during 
the  progress  of  a  class  exercise. 

Teaching  Delightful. — It  is  pleasant  to  visit  a  school, 
where  everything  is  done,  and  well  done,  at  its  proper 
time.  Teaching,  under  such  circumstances,  becomes  a 
delightful  employment.  But  where  all  is  confusion,  and 
the  teacher  allows  himself  by  the  accumulation  of  irregu- 
larities to  be  oppressed  and  perplexed,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  wearing  and  undesirable  vocations  on  earth.  The 
teacher  goes  to  his  lodgings  harassed  with  care,  oppressed 
with  a  consciousness  of  the  imperfection  of  his  labors, 
and  exhausted  by  the  unnatural  and  unwarrantable  tax 
imposed  upon  his  mental  faculties.  He  groans  under 
the  burden  incident  to  his  calling,  and  longs  to  escape 
from  it ;  never  once  dreaming,  perhaps,  that  he  has  the 
power  of  relieving  himself  by  the  introduction  of  system, 
and  thus  changing  his  former  Babel  into  a  scene  of  quiet- 
ness and  order. 


THKOKV  AM)  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

SECTION  in.    RECESSES. 

How  Often  ? — In  speaking  of  the  arrangements  of  a 
school,  the  subject  of  recesses  demands  attention.  It  is 
the  belief  of  many  enlightened  instructors  that  the  con- 
finement in  most  of  our  schools  is  still  too  protracted, 
and  that  more  time  devoted  to  relaxation  would  be  prof- 
itable both  to  the  physical  and  mental  constitution  of 
our  youth.  Some  have  urged  a  recess  of  a  few  minutes 
eve*y  hour,  in  order  to  afford  opportunity  for  a  change 
of  position  and  a  change  of  air.  This  could  better  be 
done  in  schools  composed  only  of  one  sex,  or  where  the 
accommodation  of  separate  yards,  and  play  grounds  per- 
mits both  sexes  to  take  a  recess  at  the  same  time.  Where 
these  accommodations  are  wanting  and  one  sex  must  wait 
while  the  other  is  out,  the  time  required  for  two  recesses 
in  half  a  day,  for  the  whole  school,  could  scarcely  be  af- 
forded. I  am  of  the  opinion,  as  our  schools  are  at  pres- 
ent composed,  that  one  recess  in  the  half  day  for  each 
sex  is  all  that  can  be  allowed.  The  question  then  is, 
how  can  that  one  recess  be  made  most  conducive  to  the 
purposes  for  which  it  is  designed  ? 

As  to  the  Duration  of  Recess. — Ten  minutes  is  the 
least  time  that  should  be  thought  of,  if  the  children  are 
to  be  kept  closely  confined  to  study  during  the  remainder 
of  the  three  hours'  session  ;  that  is,  ten  minutes  for  each 
sex.  It  would  be  a  very  desirable  thing  if  our- school- 
houses  could  be  so  furnished  with  separate  play  grounds 
and  separate  out-door  accommodations  that  both  sexes 
could  take  recess  at  the  same  time.  This  would  save 
much  time  to  the  district  in  the  course  of  a  term,  and 
it  would  also  give  opportunity  for  thoroughly  ventilating 
the  room  during  recess,  while  it  would  afford  the  teacher 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  213 

opportunity  to  take  the  air  and  overlook  the  sports  of 
the  children  to  some  extent — a  matter  of  no  small  im- 
portance. 

Teacher's  Work  at  Recess. — Where  these  facilities 
are  wanting,  and  the  teacher  must  remain  within  to  preside 
over  the  one  half  of  the  school  while  the  others  are  out, 
he  may  still  give  ten  minutes  at  least  to  each  sex,  con- 
triving to  employ  profitably  the  time  within  doors.  He 
may  reserve  this  time  for  settling  such  difficulties  as  may 
have  arisen  in  the  school ;  he  may  administer  reproofs, 
inflict  his  punishments  if  any  are  necessary,  or  he  may 
spend  the  time  in  giving  assistance  to  the  pupils,  or  in 
drawing  upon  the  blackboard  for  the  advantage  of  the 
younger  pupils  as  they  come  in.  In  a  large  school, 
where  a  longer  recess  is  the  more  necessary  on  account 
of  the  bad  air  of  the  schoolroom,  he  will  find  the  more 
duty  to  be  done  at  this  time  ;  so  that  in  any  event  the 
time  need  not  be  lost,  even  if  fifteen  minutes  be  allowed 
to  each  sex. 

As  to  the  Proper  Hour  for  Recess. — It  was  an  old 
rule  to  have  recess  when  "  school  was  half  done  "  Indeed, 
this  expression  was  often  used  as  synonymous  with  recess 
in  many  districts  twenty-five  years  ago.  It  is  now  gen- 
erally thought  better  to  have  the  recess  occur  later, 
perhaps  when  the  school  session  is  two-thirds  past.  It 
is  found  that  children,  accustomed  to  exercise  all  the 
morning  can  better  bear  the  confinement  of  the  first 
two  hours  than  they  can  that  of  the  third,  even  though 
the  recess  immediately  precedes  the  third.  In  a  school 
the  half-daily  sessions  of  which  are  three  hours,  I  should 
recommend  that  the  recess  be  introduced  so  as  to  termi- 
nate at  the  close  of  the  second  hour.  As  far  as  possible, 
it  would  be  well  to  have  all  the  pupils  leave  the  room  at 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

the  time  recess  is  given  them  ;  and,  as  a  general  thing, 
they  should  not  ask  leave  to  go  out  at  any  other  time. 
A  little  system  in  this  matter  is  as  desirable  as  in  any 
other,  and  it  is  quite  as  feasible. 

Young  Children. — In  a  school  composed  partly  of 
very  young  children,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  giving  such 
children  two  recesses  each  half  day.  Nor  is  there  any 
objection  to  such  a  course.  It  is  more  irksome  to  young 
children  to  bear  confinement  than  to  the  adult,  especially 
as  they  cannot  be  expected  to  be  constantly  occupied. 
It  will  relieve  the  teacher  very  much  to  have  the  children 
go  out  of  the  room  as  soon  as  they  become  fatigued,  and, 
as  it  will  promote  their  own  health  and  happiness  to  go, 
it  is  very  justifiable  to  grant  them  the  privilege.  This 
may  properly  and  easily  be  provided  for  upon  the  pro- 
gram, 

SECTION   IV.      ASSIGNING  LESSONS. 

Teachers  Fail  by  Assigning  Too  Long  Lessons.— 

Many  teachers  fail  in  this  department.  Judging  of  the 
difficulty  of  the  lesson  by  the  ease  with  which  they  can 
acquire  it,  even  in  a  text-book  new  to  themselves,  they 
not  unfrequently  assign  more  than  can  possibly  be 
learned  by  the  children.  They  forget  that  by  long  dis- 
cipline of  mind,  and  by  the  aid  of  much  previously 
acquired  knowledge,  the  lesson  becomes  comparatively 
easy  to  them  ;  they  forget,  too,  the  toil  a  similar  lesson 
cost  them  when  they  were  children.  Now  the  effect  of 
poorly  learning  a  lesson  is  most  ruinous  to  the  mind  of 
a  child.  He,  by  the  habit  of  missing,  comes  to  think  it 
a  small  thing  to  fail  at  recitation.  He  loses  his  self- 
respect.  He  loses  all  regard  for  his  reputation  as  a 
scholar.  It  is  truly  deplorable  to  see  a  child  fail  in  a 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  215 

lesson  with  indifference.  Besides,  the  attempt  to  acquire 
an  unreasonable  lesson  induces  a  superficial  habit  of 
study — a  skimming  over  the  surface  of  things.  The  child 
studies,  that  he  may  live  through  the  recitation  ;  not  that 
he  may  learn  and  remember.  He  passes  thus  through  a 
book,  and  thinks  himself  wise  while  he  is  yet  a  fool — a 
mistake  that  is  no  less  common  than  fatal. 

Not  How  Much,  but  How  Well.— The  motto  of  the 
wise  teacher  should  be,  "  NOT  HOW  MUCH,  BUT  HOW 
WELL."  He  should  always  ask,  is  it  possible  that  the 
child  can  master  this  lesson,  &&&  probable  that  he  will? 
It  is  better  that  a  class  should  make  but  very  slow  prog- 
ress for  several  weeks,  if  they  but  acquire  the  habit  of 
careful  study  and  a  pride  of  good  scholarship, — a  dread 
of  failure, — than  that  they  should  ramble  over  a  whole 
field,  firing  at  random,  missing  oftener  than  they  hit  the 
mark,  and  acquiring  a  stupid  indifference  to  their  repu- 
tatiqn  as  marksmen,  and  a  prodigal  disregard  to  their 
waste  of  ammunition  and  their  loss  of  the  game. 

Good  Habits  of  Study. — In  assigning  lessons,  the  im- 
portance of  good  habits  of  study  should  be  con- 
sidered, and  the  lessons  given  accordingly.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  a  term  the  lessons  should  always  be  short 
till  the  ability  of  the  pupils  is  well  understood  and 
their  habits  as  good  students  established.  As  the  term 
progresses  they  can  be  gradually  lengthened  as  the 
capacity  of  the  class  will  warrant,  or  their  own  desire 
will  demand.  It  is  frequently  judicious  to  consult  the 
class  about  the  length  of  the  lessons,  though  to  be  sure 
their  judgment  cannot  always  he  relied  on,  for  they 
are  almost  always  ready  to  undertake  more  than  they 
can  well  perform.  Assigning,  however,  somewhat  less 
than  they  propose  will  take  from  them  all  excuse  for 


216  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

failure.  When  the  lesson  is  given,  a  failure  should  be 
looked  upon  as  culpable  dereliction  of  duty,  as  incom- 
patible with  a  good  conscience  as  it  is  with  good 
scholarship.  This  high  ground  cannot  be  taken,  how- 
ever, unless  the  teacher  has  been  very  judicious  in  the 
assignment  of  the  lesson. 

SECTION  V.      REVIEWS. 

Why  Necessary. — In  the  prosecution  of  study  by 
any  class  of  students,  frequent  reviews  are  necessary. 
This  is  so,  because  the  memory  is  very  much  aided  by 
repetition  and  by  association.  But  further,  the  under- 
standing is  often  very  much  improved  by  a  review. 
Many  of  the  sciences  cannot  be  presented  in  independent 
parts,  nor  can  all  the  terms  employed  be  fully  appreci- 
ated till  these  parts  are  again  viewed  as  a  whole.  Many 
things  which  were  but  dimly  seen  the  first  time  they 
were  passed  over  become  perfectly  clear  to  the  mind 
when  viewed  afterwards  in  connection  with  what  follows 
them. 

Why  Frequent ;  Application  of  Principles  to  Prac- 
tical Life. — In  conducting  reviews,  regard  must  be  had 
to  the  age  and  character  of  the  pupils  and  to  the  branch 
pursued.  In  arithmetic,  and  indeed  in  mathematics 
generally,  where  so  much  depends  upon  every  link  in  the 
great  chain,  very  frequent  reviews  are  necessary.  Indeed, 
almost  daily  it  is  profitable  to  call  up  some  principle 
before  gone  over  In  several  branches,  where  the 
parts  have  a  less  intimate  connection,  as  in  geography, 
natural  philosophy,  and  some  others,  the  reviews 
may  be  at  greater  intervals.  It  would  be  well,  I  think, 
in  every  common  school,  to  have  a  review-day  once  a 
week.  This,  besides  the  advantages  already  indicated, 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  217 

will  lead  the  children  to  study  for  something  beyond 
recitation.  Nor  is  it  enough,  at  the  review  that  the 
questions  of  the  text-book  be  again  proposed  to  the 
children.  If  this  be  all,  they  will  only  exercise  their 
memories.  As  far  as  possible  the  subject  should  be  called 
up,  and  the  application  of  Principles  to  practical  life  should 
be  dwelt  upon.  If  this  course  is  expected  by  the 
learners,  they  will  think  during  the  week,  in  order  to 
anticipate  the  examination  of  the  teacher ;  and  this 
thinking  is  more  profitable  to  them  than  the  knowledge 
itself. 

A  General  Review. — It  is  always  well,  besides  the 
periodical  reviews,  to  have  a  general  review  at  the  close 
of  any  particular  study.  This  enables  the  teacher  to 
detect  any  false  conceptions  which  the  pupil  has  enter- 
tained  during  the  first  course.  He  can  now  present  the 
subject  as  a  whole,  and  view  one  part  by  the  light  of 
another.  In  natural  philosophy,  how  much  better  the 
law  of  reflected  motion  can  be  appreciated  after  the  sub- 
ject of  optics  has  bee.n  studied,  in  which  the  doctrine 
of  reflection  in  general  has  been  fully  discussed  and 
illustrated  !  hi  physiology,  what  light  is  thrown  upon 
the  process  of  growth  in  the  system  by  the  subsequent 
chapters  on  absorption  and  secretion !  How  much 
clearer  is  the  economy  of  respiration  understood  when 
viewed  in  connection  with  the  circulation  of  the  blood  ! 
A  general  review,  then,  is  an  enlightening  process ;  and 
it  is  always  profitable,  with,  perhaps,  one  exception. 
When  it  is  instituted  with  reference  to  a  public  exami- 
nation, it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  evil  is  not 
greater  than  the  good.  It  then  degenerates  into  an  effort 
to  appear  well  at  a  particular  time  ;  it  is  again  studying 
in  order  to  recite  ;  and  I  look  upon  it"  as  no  small  evil, 


218  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

that  the  mind  should  have  any  object  in  view  which 
comes  in  between  it  and  the  grand  desire  to  know — to 
master  the  subject  for  its  own  sake,  and  not  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  being  able  to  talk  about  it  on  one  great 
occasion. 

SECTION   VI.      PUBLIC   EXAMINATIONS. 

Examinations  not  without  Objections. — It  is  now 
the  usage  in  all  our  schools  to  have  public  examinations, — 
generally  at  the  close  of  a  term,  or  a  portion  of  a  term, — 
in  order  to  test,  in  some  measure,  the  industry  and  skill 
of  the  teacher  and  the  proficiency  of  the  pupils.  I  am 
hardly  prepared  to  oppose  this  usage,  because  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  examinations  are  of  some  utility  as  a 
means  of  awakening  an  interest  in  the  parents  of  the 
children  ;  perhaps  they  do  something  to  stimulate  school- 
officers,  and  also  to  excite  to  greater  effort  during  the 
term  both  the  teacher  and  the  pupils.  Still,  public  ex- 
aminations, as  frequently  conducted,  are  not  without 
serious  objections.  I.  They  certainly  cannot  be  looked 
upon  as  criterions  of  the  faithfulness  or  success  of 
teachers.  A  man  with  tact,  and  without  honesty,  may 
make  his  school  appear  to  far  greater  advantage  than  a 
better  man  can  make  a  better  school  appear.  This  has 
often  happened.  It  is  not  the  most  faithful  and  thorough 
teaching  that  makes  the  show  and  attracts  the  applause 
at  a  public  exhibition.  It  is  the  superficial,  mechanical 
memoriter  exercise  that  is  most  imposing.  Who  has  not 
seen  a  class,  that  recited  by  rote  and  in  concert  at  a  cele- 
bration, win  the  largest  approbation,  when  many  of  the 
individuals  know  not  the  import  of  the  words  they 
uttered.  Names  in  geography  have  been  thus  "  said  or 
sung,"  when  the  things  signified  were  to  the  children  as 


SCHOOL  ARRANGEMENTS.  219 

really  tervvz  incognita  as   the  fairy  lands  of  Sinbad  the 
Sailor. 

Not  to  be  Taken  as  Indices  of  Proficiency. — Nor  can 
such  exhibitions  be-  claimed  justly  to  indicate  the  pro- 
ficiency of  the  pupils  Every  experienced  teacher  knows 
that  the  best  scholars  often  fail  at  a  public  examination, 
and  the  most  indolent  and  superficial  often  distinguish 
themselves.  The  spectators  not  unfrequently,  in  point- 
ing out  the  talent  of  the  school,  make  the  teacher  sniile 
at  their  blunders. 

Encourage  Deception. — They  present  a  strong  tempt- 
ation to  dishonesty  on  the  part*of  the  teacher.  Since  so 
much  stress  is  laid  upon  the  examination,  and  particu- 
larly, in  some  regions,  upon  the  Celebration,  where  sev- 
eral schools  are  brought  together  to  make  a  show  for  a 
few  hours,  it  must  be  rather  an  uncommon  man  who 
will  have  sufficient  principle  to  exhibit  his  school  as  it  is, 
and  refuse  to  make  those  efforts  so  very  common  to  have 
it  appear  what  it  is  not. "  The  wish,  expressed  or  implied  t 
of  the  parents,  and  the  ambition  of  the  children,  ail 
conspire  to  make  the  teacher  yield  to  a  usage  so  com- 
mon Consequently  several  weeks  will  be  spent  to  pre 
pare  the  children  to  appear  in  public..  During  this  time 
they  study  not  for  improvement,  not  for  future  useful- 
ness, but  simply  to  make  a  show  at  the  public  celebration. 
An  unworthy  and  unwarrantable  motive  actuates  them 
during  all  this  process,  and  at  last,  unless  strangely 
benighted,  they  are  conscious  of  holding  up  a  false 
appearance  to  the  world.  Now,  under  such  circum- 
stances, whatever  of  good  is  effected,  by  way  of  enkin- 
dling a  zeal  in  the  parents,  is  dearly  purchased.  The 
sacrifice  of  principle  in  a  teacher — much  more  in  the 
children— is  a  large  price  to  pay  for  the  applause  of  a 


220  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING 

few  visitors,  or  even  for  an  increase   of  interest  among 
them  in  the  cause  of  popular  education. 

Sometimes  Useful.  When  ?— Examinations,  how- 
ever, which  are  less*  showy^  and  which  are  of  such  a 
character  as  thoroughly  to  sift  the  teaohings  that  have 
been  given,  and  to  thwart  any  ingenious  efforts  specially 
to  prepare  for  them — examinations  that  look  back  to  the 
general  teaching  of  the«  term,  or  the  year*  and  test  the 
accuracy  and  thoroughness*  of  the?  instructions — are 
unquestionably  very  desirable  and  useful.  To  make 
them  so  in  the  highest  sense,  and  to  exempt  them  from 
an  evil  tendency  upon  the  minds  of  the  young  them- 
selves, the  teacher  should  be  strictly  honest.  Not  a  lesson 
should  be  given  with  sole  reference  to  the  exhibition  at, 
the  close  ;  not  an  exercise  should  be  omitted  because  the 
examination  approaches.  The  good  teacher  should  keep 
those  great  motives  before  the  mind,  which  look  to 
future  usefulness,  and  to  the  discharge  of  duty.  The 
child  should  be  taught  that  he  is  accountable  for  what  he 
acquires,  and  what  he  may  acquire,  and  not  for  what  he 
may  appear  to  have  acquired ;  and  that  this  accounta- 
bility is  not  confined  to  a  single  day,  soon  to  pass  and  be 
forgotten ,  but  it  runs  through  all  time  and  all  eternity. 

Further  Caution. — I  know  not  but  the  expectation  of 
an  examination  may  stimulate  some  to  greater  exertion 
and  make  them  better  scholars.  If  this  be  so,  it  may  be 
well  enough ;  and  yet  I  should  be  slow  to  present  such  a 
motive  to  the  mind  of  a  child,  because  a  special  or  sec- 
ondary accountability  always  detracts  from  the  general 
a-nd  chief. 

A  strong  reason,  in  addition  to  those  already  assigned, 
why  special  preparation  should  not  be  made  for  the  ex- 


bC  1 1 OO L  A  k  R  A  X  ( j  K  M  E NTS.  821 

amination,  is  that  where  such  preparation  is  expected 
the  pupils  become  careless  in  their  ordinary  exercises. 

Teacher  should  be  Honest. — While,  then,  I  think  too 
much  stress  is  at  present  placed  upon  showy  exhibitions 
and  celebrations,  and  the  objections  and  dangers  attend 
examinations,  as  frequently  conducted,  I  would  not  rec- 
ommend altogether  their  discontinuance.  I  would  rather 
urge  that  the  teacher,  by  his  inflexible  honesty,  should 
make  them  fair  representations  of  the  actual  condition  of 
his  school,  without  relying  very  much  upon  them  as  a 
means  of  stimulating  the  pupils  to  exertion  ;  that  the 
pupils  should  be  made  to  feel  that  the  results  of  their 
exertion  through  the  term,  rather  than  a  few  special  ef- 
forts near  its  close,  would  be  brought  into  review ;  that 
no  hypocrisy  or  management  should  ever  be  tolerated,  in 
Order  to  win  the  applause  of  the  multitude  ;  that  no  par- 
ticular lessons  should  ever  be  assigned  for  the  occasion  ; 
that  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  moral  effect  of  an 
occasional  failure  at  examination  will  be  more  salutary 
upon  the  school  than  unbroken  success ;  and  that  the 
children  are  irreparably  injured  when  they  are  made  in 
any  way  the  willing  instruments  of  false  pretension. 

Profitable  Examinations. — Under  such  circumstances, 
examinations  may  be  profitable  to  all  concerned.  If 
teacher  and  pupils  have  done  well,  they  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  it  without  violence  to  their  own  con- 
sciences. The  employers,  and  patrons,  too,  have  some 
means  of  forming  a  correct  estimate  of  the  value  of  their 
school ;  and  all  parties  may  be  encouraged  and  stimu- 
lated. But  above,  all  things,  LET  THE  TEACHER  BE 
HONEST. 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   TEACHER'S    RELATION    TO    THE    PAR- 
ENTS  OF  HIS  PUPILS 

Talents  in  a  Clergyman  Private  Character.— In 
the  choice  of  a  clergyman,  after  estimating  his  moral  and 
religious  character,  and  ascertaining  the  order  of  his  pulpit 
talents,  a  third  question  remains  to  be  answered,  viz.  r 
What  are  his  qualifications  as  a  pastor?  How  is  he 
adapted  to  fulfil  the  various  relations  of  private  friend 
and  counsellor;  and  in  the  family  circle,  m  his  inter, 
course  with  the  aged  and  the  young,  how  is  he  fitted  to 

"  Allure  to  brighter  worlds  and  lead  the  way"  ? 

In  that  sacred  profession  every  one  knows  that  nearly  as 
much  good  is  to  be  done  by  private  intercourse  as  in  the 
public  ministration.  Many  a  heart  can  be  reached  by  a 
friendly  and  informal  conversation,  that  would  remain 
unmoved  by  the  most  powerful  eloquence  from  the 
pulpit.  Besides,  many  are  prepared  to  be  profited  in 
the  public  exercises  by  that  intercourse  in  private  which 
has  opened  their  hearts,  removed  prejudice,  and  engen- 
dered a  feeling  of  friendly  interest  in  the  preacher.  The 
admonitions  of  the  Gospel  thus  have  the  double  power 
of  being  truth,  and  truth  uttered  by  the  lips  of  a  valued 
friend. 

Social  Qualities  in  a  Teacher.— It  is  to  some  extent 
thus  with  the  school  teacher.  He  may  be  very  learned 


THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  PARENTS. 

and  very  apt  to  teach,  and  yet  fail  of  success  in  his  dis- 
trict. Hence  it  is  highly  important  that  he  should  pos- 
sess and  carefully  cultivate  those  social  qualities  which 
will  greatly  increase  his  usefulness.  The  teacher  should 
consider  it  a  part  of  his  duty,  whenever  he  enters  a  dis- 
trict, to  excite  a  deeper  interest  there  among  the  patrons 
of  the  school  than  they  have  ever  before  felt.  He  should 
not  be  satisfied  till  he  has  reached  every  mind  connected 
with  his  charge  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  cheerfully 
co-operate  with  him  and  sustain  his  judicious  efforts  for 
good.  Being  imbued  with  a  deep  feeling  of  the  import- 
ance of  \iis  work,  he  should  let  them  see  that  he  is  alive 
to  the  interests  of  their  children.  To  this  end, — 

i.  He  should  Seek  Frequent  Opportunities  of  In- 
tercourse with  the  Parents.— Though  the  advances  to- 
ward this  point,  by  the  strict  rules  of  etiquette,  should 
be  made  by  the  parents  themselves — (as  by  some  it  is 
actually  and  seasonably  done) — yet,  as  a  general  thing, 
taking  the  world  as  we  find  it,  the  teacher  must  lead 
the  way.  He  must  often  introduce  himself  uninvited 
to  the  people  among  whom  he  dwells,  calling  at  their 
homes  in  the  spirit  of  his  vocation,  and  conversing  with 
them  freely  about  his  duty  to  their  children  and  to 
themselves.  Every  parent,  of  course,  will  feel  bound  to 
be  courteous  and  civil  in  his  own  house ;  and,  by  such 
an  interview,  perhaps  a  difference  of  opinion,  a  preju- 
dice, or  a  suspicion  may  be  removed,  and  the  founda- 
tion of  a  mutual  good  understanding  be  laid,  which 
many  little  troubles  can  never  shake.  It  may  be  very 
useful  to  have  an  interview  with  such  parents  as  have 
been  disturbed  by  some  administration  of  discipline 
upon  members  of  thefr  families.  Let  me  not  be  under- 
stood, however,  to  recommend  that  the  teacher  should 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

ever  go  to  the  parent  in  a  cringing,  unmanly  spirit.  It 
would  probably  be  far  better  that  the  parties  should 
ever  remain  entire  strangers,  than  that  their  meeting 
should  necessarily  be  an  occasion  of  humiliating  retrac- 
tion on  the  part  of  teacher.  Neither  should  the  parents 
ever  be  allowed  to  expect  that  the  teacher  always  will  as 
a  matter  of  duty  come  to  their  confessional.  But  it  is 
believed,  if  there  could  be  a  meeting  of  the  parties  as 
men,  as  gentlemen,  as  Christians,  as  coadjutors  for  the 
child's  welfare,  it  would  always  be  attended  with  good 
results. 

2.  He  should  be  Willing  to  Explain  all  His  Plans 
to  the  Parents  of  His  Pupils.— If  they  had  implicit 
confidence  in  him,  and  would  readily  and  fully  give  him 
every  facility  for  carrying  forward  all  his  designs  without 
explanation,  then,  perhaps,  this  direction  might  not  be 
necessary.  But  as  the  world  is,  he  cannot  expect  spon- 
taneous confidence.  They  wish  to  know  his  designs,  and 
it  is  best  they  should  be  informed  of  them  by  himself. 
The  best  way  for  the  teacher  to  interest  them  in  the 
business  of  education  will  be  freely  to  converse  with 
them  concerning  the  measures  he  intends  to  adopt.  If 
his  plans  are  judicious,  he  of  course  can  show  good  rea- 
sons why  they  should  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  parents 
are  generally  willing  to  listen  to  reason,  especially  when 
it  is  directed  to  the  benefit  of  their  own  children.  Many 
a  parent,  upon  the  first  announcement  of  a  measure  in 
school,  has  stoutly  opposed  it,  who.  upon  a  little  explan- 
atory conversation  with  the  teacher,  would  entertain  a 
very  different  opinion,  and  ever  after  would  be  most 
ready  to  countenance  and  support  it. 

Encourage  Inquiry. — It  seems  to  me  a  teacher  may 
safely  encourage  inquiry  into  all  his  movements  in 


THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  PARENTS.       225 

school.  There  is  an  old  saying — in  my  opinion  a  mis- 
chievous one — which  enjoins  it  as  a  duty  upon  all,  to 
"tell  no  tales  out  of  school."  I  see  no  objection  to  the 
largest  liberty  in  this  matter.  Why  may  not  every- 
thing be  told,  if  told  correctly.''  Parents  frequently 
entertain  a  suspicious  spirit  as  to  the  movements  of 
the  teacher.  Would  not  very  much  of  this  be  done 
away,  if  it  was  understood  there  was  no  mystery  about 
the  school !  The  teacher  who  would  thus  invite  in- 
quiry would  be  very  careful  never  to  do  anything  which 
he  would  not  be  willing  to  have  related  to  the  parents 
or  even  to  be  witnessed  by  them.  I  would  have  no  ob- 
jection, if  it  were  possible,  that  the  walls  of  our  school- 
rooms, as  you  look  inward,  should  be  transparent,  so 
that  any  individual  unperceived  might  view  with  his 
own  eyes  the  movements  within.  The  consciousness  of 
such  an  oversight  would  work  a  healthy  influence  upon 
those  who  have  too  long  delighted  in  mystery. 

3.  The  Teacher  should  Encourage  Parents  Fre- 
quently to  Visit  His  School. — There  is  almost  every- 
where too  great  backwardness  on  the  part  of  parents  to 
do  this  duty.  The  teacher  should  early  invite  them  to 
come  in.  It  is  not  enough  that  he  do  this  in  general 
terms.  He  may  fix  the  time  and  arrange  the  party  so  that 
those  who  would  assimilate  should  be  brought  together. 
It  will  frequently  be  wise  to  begin  with  the  mothers, 
where  visitation  has  been  unusual.  They  will  soon  bring 
in  the  fathers.  As  often  as  they  come  they  will  be  bene- 
fited. When  such  visits  are  made  the  teacher  should 
not  depart  from  his  usual  course  of  instruction  on  their 
account.  Let  all  the  recitations  and  explanations  be  at- 
tended to,  all  praises  and  reproofs,  all  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments be  as  faithfully  and  punctually  dispensed  as  i 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

no  person  were  present.  In  other  words,  let  the  teacher 
faithfully  exhibit  the  school  just  as  it  is,  its  lights  and 
its  shadows,  so  that  they  may  see  all  its  workings,  and 
understand  all  its  trials  as  well  as  its  encouragements. 

Such  visitations  under  such  circumstances,  it  is  be- 
lieved, would  ever  be  highly  beneficial.  The  teacher's 
difficulties  and  cares  would  be  better  understood,  and  his 
efforts  to  be  useful  appreciated.  The  hindrances  thus 
seen  to  impede  his  progress  would  be  promptly  removed, 
and  the  teacher  would  receive  more  cordial  sympathy 
and  support. 

Be  Honest ;  No  False  Pretences.— But  if  the  teacher 
makes  such  visits  the  occasion  for  putting  a  false  appear- 
ance upon  the  school ;  if  he  takes  to  himself  unusual  airs, 
such  as  make  him  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  his  pupils,  and 
even  in  his  own  estimation;  if  he  attempts  to  bring 
before  the  visitors  his  best  classes,  and  to  impress  them 
with  his  own  skill  by  showing  off  his  best  scholars,  they 
will,  sooner  or  later,  discover  his  hypocrisy,  and  very 
likely  despise  'tiim  for  an  attempt  to  deceive  them. 

4.  The  Teacher  should  be  Frank  in  all  His  Repre- 
sentations to  Parents  Concerning  Their  Children. — 
This  is  a  point  upon  which  many  teachers  most  lamentably 
err.  In  this,  as  in  every  other  case,  "  honesty  is  the  best 
policy."  If  an  instructor  informs  a  parent  during  the 
term  that  his  son  is  making  rapid  progress,  or  as  the 
phrase  is — "  doing  very  well,"  he  excites  in  him  high 
expectations ;  and  if  at  the  end  of  the  term  it  turns  out 
otherwise,  the  parent  with  much  justice  may  feel  that 
he  has  been  injured,  and  may  be  expected  to  load  him 
with  censure  instead  of  praise.  Let  a  particular  answer, 
and  a  true  one,  always  be  given  to  the  inquiry — "  How 
does  my  child  get  along  ? "  The  parent  has  a  right  to 


THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  PARENTS.        227 

know,  and  the  teacher  has  no  right  to  conceal  the  truth. 
Sometimes  teachers,  fearing  the  loss  of  a  pupil,  have 
used  some  indefinite  expression,  which  however,  the 
doting  parent  is  usually  ready  to  interpret  to  his  child's 
advantage.  But  sooner  or  later  the  truth  will  appear ; 
and  when  the  teacher  is  once  convicted  of  any  misrepre- 
sentation in  this  particular,  there  is  rarely  any  forgive- 
ness for  him.  For  this  reason  and  for  his  own  love  of 
truth,  for  his  own  reputation  and  for  the  child's  welfare, 
he  should  keep  nothing  back.  He  should  tell  the  whole 
story  plainly  and  frankly, — and  the  parent,  if  he  is  a 
gentleman,  will  thank  him  for  his  faithfulness  to  him ; 
and  if  he  has  any  sense  of  justice,  he  will  be  ready  to 
co-operate  with  him  for  his  child's  improvement.  At 
any  rate  such  a  course  will  ensure  the  reward  of  a  good 
conscience. 

Be  Modest. — The  teacher,  as  I  have  before  urged, 
should  have  the  habits  and  manners  of  a  gentleman. 
He  should  strive  also  to  acquire  the  ability  to  converse 
in  an  easy  and  agreeable  way,  so  that  his  society  shall 
never  be  irksome.  He,  in  other  words,  should  be  a  man 
who  does  not  require  much  entertaining.  Modesty, 
withal,  is  a  great  virtue  in  the  teacher  ;  especially  in  his 
intercourse  with  the  people  of  his  district.  Teachers, 
from  their  almost  constant  intercourse  with  their  pupils 
are  apt  to  think  their  own  opinions  infallible  ;  and  they 
sometimes  commit  the  ridiculous  error,  of  treating 
others  wiser  than  themselves  as  children  in  knowledge. 
This  infirmity,  incident  to  the  profession,  should  be  care- 
fully avoided  ;  and  while  the  teacher  should  ever  en- 
deavor to  make  his  conversation  instructive,  he  should 
assume  no  airs  of  superior  learning  or  infallible  author- 
ity. He  should  remember  the  truth  in  human  nature, 


•J5-S  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

that    men   are   best  pleased  to  learn  without    being  re- 
minded that  they  are  learners. 

"  Out-door  Work." — I  have  known  some  teachers 
who  have  sneered  at  what  they  have  termed  the  "  out- 
door work "  here  recommended.  They  have  thrown 
themselves  upon  their  dignity,  and  have  declared  that 
when  they  had  done  their  duty  within  the  schoolroom, 
they  had  done  all  that  could  be  expected,  and  that  par- 
ents were  bound  to  co-operate  with  them,  and  sustain 
them.  But,  after  all,  we  must  take  the  world  as  we  find 
it ;  and  since  parents  do  not  always  feel  interested  as 
they  should,  I  hold  it  to  be  a  part  of  the  teacher's  duty 
to  excite  their  interest,  and  to  win  them  to  his  aid  by  all 
the  proper  means  in  his  power.  In  doing  this,  he  will. 
in  the  most  effectual  way,  secure  the  progress  of  his 
school,  and  at  the  same  time  advance  his  own  personal 
improvement. 


TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.        229 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH. 

Many  Invalid  Teachers. — No  employment  is  more 
wearing  to  the  constitution  than  the  business  of  teaching. 
So  many  men  falter  in  this  employment  from  ill  health, 
and  so  many  are  deterred  from  entering  it,  because  they 
have  witnessed  the  early  decay  and  premature  old  age  of 
those  who  have  before  pursued  it ;  so  many  are  still 
engaged  in  it  who  almost  literally  "drag  their  slow  length 
along,"  groaning  under  complicated  forms  of  disease  and 
loss  of  spirits,  which  they  know  not  how  to  tolerate  or 
cure, — that  it  has  become  a  serious  inquiry  among  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  profession,  "Cannot  something  be 
known  and  practiced  on  this  subject,  which  shall  remove 
the  evils  complained  of  ?"  Is  it  absolutely  necessary 
that  teachers  shall  be  dyspeptics  and  invalids  ?  Must 
devotion  to  a  calling  so  useful,  be  attended  with  a  penalty 
so  dreadful  ? 

Reasons. — A  careful  survey  of  the  facts,  by  more  than 
one  philanthropist,  has  led  to  the  conclusion,  that  the 
loss  of  health  is  not  a  necessary  attendant  upon  the 
teacher  of  the  young.  It  is  believed,  indeed,  that  the 
confinement  from  the  air  and  sunlight,  and  the  engross- 
ing nature  of  his  pursuits,  have  a  strong  tendency  to  bring 
in  an  irritability  of  the  nervous  system,  a  depression  of 
spirits,  and  a  prostration  of  the  digestive  functions ;  but  it 
is  also  believed,  that,  by  following  strictly  and  systemat- 
ically the  known  laws  of  health,  this  tendency  may  be 


280  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

successfully  resisted,  and  the  teacher's  life  and  usefulness 
very  much  prolonged.  The  importance  of  the  subject, 
and  a  desire  to  render  this  volume  as  useful  as  possible, 
has  induced  me  to  ask  leave  to  transfer  to  its  pages,  with 
slight  abbreviation,  the  very  judicious  and  carefully 
written  chapter  on  "  Health — Exercise — Diet,"  contained 
in  the  "  School  and  the  Schoolmaster,"  from  the  gifted 
pen  of  George  B.  Emerson,  Esq.,  of  Boston — one  of  the 
most  enlightened  educators  of  the  present  age. 

HEALTH,   EXERCISE,   DIET. 

Laws  of  Health  Should  be  Studied.— The  teacher 
should  have  perfect  health.  It  may  seem  almost  super- 
fluous to  dwell  here  upon  what  is  admitted  to  be  so 
essential  to  all  persons ;  but  it  becomes  necessary  from 
the  fact  that  nearly  all  those  who  engage  in  teaching 
leave  other  and  more  active  employments  to  enter  upon 
their  new  calling.  By  this  change,  and  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  more  sedentary  life  within  doors  for  a  life  of 
activity  abroad,  the  whole  habit  of  the  body  is  changed, 
and  the  health  will  inevitably  suffer,  unless  precautions 
be  taken  which  have  never  before  been  necessary.  To  all 
such  persons,  to  all,  especially,  who  are  entering  upon 
the  work  of  teaching  with  a  view  of  making  it  their  oc- 
cupation through  life,  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  health 
is  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  to  such  this  chapter  is 
addressed.  I  shall  speak  of  these  laws  biiefly,  under  the 
heads  of  Exercise,  Air,  Sleep,  Food  and  Dress. 

Exercise. — So  intimate  is  the  connection  between  the 
various  parts  of  our  compound  nature,  that  the  faculties 
of  the  mind  cannot  be  naturally,  fully  and  effectually 
exercised  without  the  health  of  the  body.  And  the  first 


TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.  231 

law  of  health  is  that  which  imposes  the  necessity  of 
exercise. 

Teachers  Specially  Need  it. — The  teacher  cannot  be 
well  without  exercise,  and  usually  a  great  deal  of  it.  No 
other  pursuit  requires  so  much  ;  no  other  is  so  exhausting 
to  the  nerves  ;  and  exercise,  air,  cheerfulness  and  sun- 
shine are  necessary  to  keep  them  in  health.  Most  other 
pursuits  give  exercise  of  body,  sunshine  and  air,  in  the 
very  performance  of  the  duties  that  belong  to  them. 
This  shuts  us  up  from  all. 

Walking. — One  of  the  best,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
natural  modes  of  exercise,  is  walking.  To  give  all  the 
good  effects  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  a  walk  must  be 
taken  either  in  pleasant  company,  or,  if  alone,  with  pleas- 
ant thoughts  ;  or,  still  better,  with  some  agreeable  end  in 
view,  such  as  gathering  plants,  or  minerals,  or  observing 
other  natural  objects.  Many  a  broken  constitution  has 
been  built  up,  and  many  a  valuable  life  saved  and  pro- 
longed, by  such  a  love  of  some  branch  of  natural  history 
as  has  led  to  snatch  every  opportunity  for  a  walk,  with 
the  interest  of  a  delightful  study. 

"  Where  living  things,  and  things  inanimate 
Do  speak,  at  Heaven's  command,  to  eye  and  ear." 

President  Hitchcock. — The  distinguished  geologist  of 
Massachusetts,  President  Hitchcock,  was  once,  when 
teacher  of  a  school,  reduced  to  so  low  a  state  by  disease 
of  the  nerves,  which  took  the  ugly  shape  of  dyspepsia, 
that  he  seemed  to  be  hurrying  rapidly  towards  the  grave. 
Fortunately,  he  became  interested  in  mineralogy,  and 
this  gave  him  a  strong  motive  to  spend  all  his  leisure 
time  in  the  open  air,  and  to  take  long  circuits  in  every 
direction.  He  forgot  that  he  was  pursuing  health,  in  the 
deeper  interest  of  science  ;  and  thus,  aided  by  some  other 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

changes  in  his  habits,  but  not  in  his  pursuits,  he  gradu- 
ally recovered  the  perfect  health  which  has  enabled  him 
to  do  so  much  for  science,  and  for  the  honor  of  his  native 
State. 

Riding  on  Horseback. — Riding  on  horseback  is  one  of 
the  best  modes  of  exercise  possible  for  a  sedentary  per- 
son. It  leads  to  an  erect  posture,  throws  open  the  chest, 
gives  a  fuller  breathing,  and  exercises  the  muscles  of  the 
arms  and  upper  part  of  the  frame.  In  weakness  of  the 
digestive  organs  its  efficacy  is  remarkable.  *  *  * 

A  Garden — Farm  Labor. — A  garden  furnishes  many 
excellent  forms  of  exercise,  and  the  numerous  labors  of  a 
farm  would  give  every  variety,  if  the  teacher  could  be  in 
a  situation  to  avail  himself  of  them.  This  is  not  often 
the  case.  When  accessible,  the  rake,  the  pitchfork,  mod- 
erately used,  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended.  A 
garden  is  within  the  reach  of  most  teachers  in  the  coun- 
try. It  has  the  advantage  of  supplying  exercise  suited 
to  every  degree  of  strength,  and  of  being  filled  with  ob- 
jects gratifying  to  the  eye,  and  the  taste.  *  *  *  * 
The  flower-garden  and  shrubbery  commend  themselves 
to  the  female  teacher.  To  derive  every  advantage  from 
them,  she  must  be  willing  to  follow  the  example  often  set 
by  the  ladies  of  England,  and  use  the  hoe,  and  rake,  the 
pruning-hook,  and  the  grafting-knife,  with  her  own  hands. 

Rowing. — Rowing,  when  practicable,  is  a  most  health- 
ful exercise.  It  gives  play  to  every  muscle  and  bone  in 
the  frame.  *  *  *  *  When  the  river  is  frozen,  skating 
mav  take  the  place  of  rowing ;  and  it  is  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute. *  *  *  *  Driving  a  chaise,  or  a  sleigh,  is  a 
healthful  exercise,  if  sufficient  precaution  be  used  to 
guard  against  the  current  which  is  always  felt,  as  it  is 
produced  by  the  motion  of  the  vehicle  even  in  still  air. 


TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.  238 

Sawing  and  splitting  wood  form  a  valuable  exercise, 
particularly  important  for  those  who  have  left  an  active 
life  for  the  occupation  of  teaching. 

Exercise  should  be  taken  in  the  early  part  of  the  day 
Warren  Colburn,  the  author  of  the  arithmetic,  whose 
sagacity  in  common  things  was  as  remarkable  as  his 
genius  for  numbers,  used  to  say  that  half  an  hour's  walk 
before  breakfast  did  him  as  much  good  as  an  hour's  after. 
Be  an  early  riser.  The  air  of  morning  is  more  bracing 
and  invigorating  ;  the  sights,  and  sounds,  and  odors  of 
morning  are  more  refreshing  A  life's  experience  in 
teaching  declares  the  morning  best.  *  *  * 

In  Open  Air. — Exercise  must  always  be  taken,  if 
possible,  in  the  open  air.  Air  is  as  essential  as  exercise, 
and  often,  in  warm  weather  particularly,  more  so.  They 
belong  together.  The  blood  flows  not  as  it  should,  it 
fails  to  give  fresh  life  to  the  brain,  if  we  breathe  not 
fresh  air  enough.  The  spirits  cannot  enjoy  the  serene 
cheerfulness  which  the  teacher  needs,  if  he  breathe  not 
fresh  air  enough.  The  brain  cannot  perform  its  func- 
tions ;  thought  cannot  be  quick,  vigorous,  and  healthy 
without  ample  supplies  of  air.  Much  of  the  right  moral 
tone  of  habitual  kindliness  and  thankful  reverence, 
depends  on  the  air  of  heaven. 

In  the  Light. — Exercise  must  be  taken  in  the  light, 
and  if  it  may  be,  in  the  sunshine.  Who  has  not  felt  the 
benignant  influence  of  sunshine  ?  The  sun's  light  seems 
almost  as  essential  to  our  well-being  as  his  heat,  or  the 
air  we  breathe.  It  has  a  great  effect  on  the  nerves.  A 
distinguished  physician  of  great  experience,  Dr.  J.  C- 
Warren,  of  Boston,  tells  me  that  he  almost  uniformly 
finds  diseases  that  affect  the  nerves  exasperated  by  the 
darkness  of  night,  and  mitigated  by  the  coming  on  of 


23-1  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

day.  All  plants  growing  in  the  air  lose  their  strength 
and  color  when  excluded  from  light.  So  in  a  great 
degree  does  man.  They  lose  their  fine  and  delicate 
qualities,  and  the  preciousness  of  their  juices.  Man 
loses  the  glow  of  his  spirits,  and  the  warmth  and  natural 
play  of  his  finer  feelings.  *  *  *  * 

Water. — Next  to  air  and  light,  water  is  the  most 
abundant  element  in  nature.  It  can  hardly  be  requisite 
to  enjoin  upon  the  teacher  the  freest  use  of  it.  The 
most  scrupulous  cleanliness,  is  necessary,  not  only  on  his 
own  account,  but  that  he  may  be  able  always  to  insist 
upon  it,  with  authority,  in  his  pupils.  The  healthy  state 
of  the  nerves,  and  of  the  functions  of  digestion,  depends 
in  so  great  a  degree  on  the  cleanliness  of  the  skin,  that 
its  importance  can  hardly  be  overstated.  *  *  * 

Sleep. — No  more  fatal  mistake  in  regard  to  his  consti- 
tution can  be  made  by  a  young  person  given  to  study 
than  that  of  supposing  that  Nature  can  be  cheated  of 
the  sleep  necessary  to  restore  its  exhausted,  or  strengthen 
its  weakened  powers.  From  six  to  eight  hours  of  sleep 
are  indispensable  ;  and  with  young  persons  oftener  eight 
or  more  than  six.  It  is  essential  to  the  health  of  the 
body,  and  still  more  to  that  of  the  mind.  It  acts  directly 
on  the  nervous  system  ;  and  irritability,  or  what  is  called 
nervousness,  is  the  consequence  of  its  loss.  This,  bad  in 
any  person,  is  worse  in  the  teacher  than  in  any  one  else. 
It  is  an  unfailing  source  of  unhappiness  to  himself  and  to 
all  his  school.  He  would  be  unwise  to  subject  himself  to 
the  consequences  of  t'he  loss  of  sleep;  he  has  no  right 
to  subject  others.  *  *  *  * 

Diet. — To  no  person  is  an  attention  to  diet  more  im- 
portant than  to  the  teacher.  For  his  own  guidance  and 
that  he  may  be  able  to  give  proper  instructions  in  regard 


TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.  235 

to  this  subject  to  his  pupils,  the  conclusions  of  experience, 
or  what  we  may  consider  the  laws  of  diet,  should  be 
familiar  to  him.  Some  of  these  are  the  following: 

Simple  Food. — i.  Food  should  be  simple;  not  of  too 
little,  not  too  great  variety.  The  structure  of  the  teeth, 
resembling  at  once  those  of  animals  that  naturally  subsist 
on  flesh,  and  of  animals  that  take  only  vegetable  food, 
and  the  character  and  length  of  the  digestive  organs, 
holding  a  medium  between  the  average  of  these  two 
classes,  indicate  that  a  variety  of  food,  animal  and  veg- 
table,  is  natural  to  man,  and  in  most  cases  probably 
necessary,  The  tendency  in  most  parts  of  this  country, 
from  the  great  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of  life  is  to 
go  to  excess  in  the  consumption  of  food,  particularly  of 
animal  food.  The  striking  evils  of  this  course  have 
led  many  to  the  opposite  extreme — to  renounce 
meats  entirely.  Experience  of  the  evils  of  this  course 
also  has  in  most  places  brought  men  back  to  the  safe 
medium.  No  person  needs  to  be  more  careful  in  regard 
to  the  quality  and  nature  of  his  food  than  the  teacher,  as 
his  exclusions  from  air  for  a  great  part  of  the  day  leaves 
him  in  an  unfit  condition  to  digest  unwholesome  food, 
while  the  constant  use  of  his  lungs  render  Jiis  appetite 
unnaturally  great,  or  destroys  it  altogether.  Animal  food 
seems  to  be  necessary,  but  not  in  great  quantities,  nor 
oftener,  usually,  than  once  a  day.  *  *  *  *  In  win- 
ter, the  food  should  be  nourishing,  and  may  be  more 
abundant  ;  in  summer,  less  nutritous,  less  of  animal  or- 
igin, and  in  more  moderate  quantities. 

2.  Taken  at  Intervals. — Food  should  be  taken  at 
sufficiently  distant  intervals.  *  *  *  *  The  opera- 
tion of  digestion  is  not  completed,  ordinarily,  in  less  than 
four  hours.  Food  should  not  be  taken  at  shorter  inter- 


THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

vals  than  this,  and  intervals  of  five  or  six  hours  are  better, 
as  they  leave  the  stomach  some  time  to  rest. 

3.  Moderate  Quantity. — It  should  be  taken  in  mod- 
erate quantity.     In  the  activity  of  common  life,  excess  is 
less  to  be   dreaded  than  with  the  sedentary  habits  and 
wearying  pursuits  of  the  teacher.     *     *     *     *     The  ex- 
haustion of  teaching  is  that  of  the  nervous  power,  and 
would  seem  to  call   for  hours  of  quiet,  and  freedom  from 
care,  with  cheerful  conversation    and  the  refreshment  of 
air  and  gentle  exercise.     Probably  all  the  kinds  of  food 
in  general  use  are  wholesome  when  partaken  of  moder- 
ately.    Those  who,  from  choice  or  compulsion,  pass  from 
an  active   to  a  sedentary  life,  should  at  the  same  time 
restrict  themselves  to  one  half  their  accustomed  quantity 
of  food. 

4.  Avoid   Fat. — As   a   general   rule   fat    should   be 
avoided.     *     *     *     *     None  but  a  person   who  uses  a 
great  deal  of  most  active  exercise,  or  is  much  exposed  to 
cold,  can  long  bear  its  use  with  impunity.     If  taken,  fat 
in  solid  form  Is  less  injurious  than  liquid  fat. 

5.  Fruit. — Fruit  may  be  eaten  with  the  recollection 
of  the  proverb  of  fruit-producing  countries  :    "  It  is  gold 
in  the  morning,  silver  at  noon,  and  lead  at  night."     Ripe 
fruit  in  its  season  is  wholesome,  and  preferable,  for  a  per- 
son of  sedentary  habits,  to  more  nourishing  and  exciting 
food.     But  it  should  be  a  substitute  for  other  food,  not 
an  addition.     A  bad  practice,  common  in  some  places,  of 
eating  fruit,  especially  the  indigestible  dried  fruits,  raisins, 
and    nuts,  in    the   evening,   should   be   avoided    by  the 
teacher.     He  must  have  quiet  and  uninterrupted  sleep, 
and  early  hours,  to  be  patient,  gentle,  and  cheerful  in 
school. 


TEACH  Kirs  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.  2:37 

5.  Drink  Water  at  Meals. — The  drink  of  a  sedentary 
person  should  be  chiefly  water,  and  that  in  small  quanti- 
ties, and  only  at  meals.  The  intelligent  Arab  of  the 
desert  drinks  not  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  He  sees 
that  watering  a  plant  in  the  sunshine  makes  it  wither; 
and  he  feels  in  himself  an  analogous  effect  from  the  use 
of  water.  There  are  few  lessons  in  regard  to  diet  so  im- 
portant to  be  inculcated  as  this :  "  Drink  not  between 
meals." 

7.  The  last  rule  to  be  observed  is,  that  no  unnecessary 
exertion  of  mind  or  body  should  be  used  immediately 
after  a  meal.  If  a  walk  must  be  taken,  it  should  rather 
be  a  leisurely  stroll  than  a  hurried  walk. 

Dress. — The  teacher  should  be  no  sloven.  He  should 
dress  well,  not  over  nicely,  not  extravagantly  ;  neatly, 
for  neatness  he  must  teach  by  example  as  well  as  by 
precept  ;  and  warmly,  for  so  many  hours  pf  a  day  shut  in 
a  warm  room  will  make  him  unusually  sensitive  to  cold. 
The  golden  rule  of  health  should  never  be  forgotten  : 
"  Keep  the  head  cool,  the  feet  warm,  and  the  body  free." 
The  dress  of  the  feet  is  particularly  important.  Coldness 
or  dampness  of  the  feet  causes  headache,  weakness  and 
inflammation  of  the  eyes,  coughs,  consumption,  and 
sometimes  fevers.  A  headache  is  often  cured  by  sitting 
with  the  feet  long  near  a  fire.  Keeping  the  feet  warm 
and  dry  alleviates  the  common  affections  of  the  eyes, 
repels  a  coming  fever,  prevents  or  quiets  coughs,  and 
serves  as  one  of  the  surest  safeguards  against  consump- 
tion. Many  of  our  most  sensible  physicians  trace  the 
prevalence  of  consumption  in  Northern  States,  not  to 
our  climate,  but  to  the  almost  universal  custom  of  wear- 
ing insufficient  clothing,  especially  on  the  feet. 


388  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Cheerfulness. — There  is  another  subject  intimately 
connected  with  health,  which  has  been  alluded  to,  but 
which  ought,  from  its  importance,  to  receive  more  than 
a  passing  remark.  It  is  cheerfulness.  This  should  be 
one  of  the  ends  and  measures  of  health.  It  ought  to  be 
considered  the  natural  condition  of  a  healthy  mind  ;  he 
who  is  not  cheerful  is  not  in  health.  If  he  has  not  some 
manifest  moral  cause  of  melancholy,  there  must  be  some- 
thing wrong  in  the  body,  or  in  the  action  of  the  powers 
of  the  mind. 

Cause  of  Low  Spirits. — A  common  cause  of  low 
spirits  in  a  teacher,  is  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  well-doing 
of  his  pupils.  This  he  must  feel ;  but  he  must  endeavor, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  banish  it  from  his  hours  of  relaxa- 
tion. He  must  leave  it  behind  him  when  he  turns  from 
the  school  house  door.  To  prevent  its  haunting  him,  he 
must  seek  pleasant  society.  He  must  forget  it  among 
the  endearments  of  home,  the  cheerful  faces  and  kind 
voices  of  friends.  This  is  the  best  of  all  resources,  and 
happy  is  the  man  who  has  a  pleasant  home,  in  the  bosom 
of  which  he  may  rest  from  labor  and  from  care.  If  he 
be  among  strangers,  he  must  endeavor  to  find  or  make 
friends  to  supply  the  place  of  home.  He  must  seek  the 
company  of  the  parents  and  friends  of  his  pupils,  not 
only  that  he  may  not  be  oppressed  by  the  loneliness  of 
his  situation,  but  that  he  may  better  understand  the 
character  of  his  pupils,  and  the  influences  to  which  they 
are  subjected. 

Sociality. — The  exercise  of  the  social  affections  is 
essential  to  the  healthy  condition  of  a  well  constituted 
mind.  Often  he  may  find  good  friends  and  pleasant 
companions  among  his  pupils.  Difference  of  years  dis- 
appears before  kindliness  of  feeling,  and  sympathy  may 


TEACHER'S  CARE  OF  HIS  HEALTH.  23d 

exist  between  those  most  remote  in  age,  and  pursuit  and 
cultivation. 


Music. — A  delightful,  but  somewhat  dangerous  recrea- 
tion is  offered  by  music  ;  delightful,  as  always  soothing 
to  the  wearied  mind ;  but  dangerous,  because  liable  to 
take  to  itself  too  much  time.  It  would  be  desirable  if 
every  instructor  could  himself  sing  or  play.  If  he  can- 
not, let  him  listen  to  songs  of  cheerful  music  from  voice 
or  instrument,  or  to  the  notes  of  birds. 

"  I'm  sick  of  noise  and  care,  and  now  mine  ear 
Longs  for  some  air  of  peace." 

A  Pernicious  Habit. — To  the  foregoing  excellent  re- 
marks I  could  scarcely  wish  to  add  anything,  save  to  call 
attention  to  that  pernicious  habit  among  both  clergymen 
and  teachers,  of  dressing  the  neck  too  warmly  whenever 
they  go  into  the  open  air.  There  seems  to  have  obtained 
an  impression  that  those  who  have  occasion  to  speak 
often,  should  be  peculiarly  careful  to  guard  their  throats 
from  the  cold.  Hence  many  are  seen  in  a  winter's  day 
with  a  collar  of  fur,  or  a  woolen  "  comforter,"  or  at  least 
a  silk  handkerchief  of  extraordinary  dimensions,  around 
their  necks,  and  often  extending  above  their  mouths  and 
nostrils.  If  they  have  occasion  to  step  out  but  for  a 
moment,  they  are  still  subject  to  the  slavery  of  putting 
on  this  unnatural  encumbrance. 

Bronchitis. — Now  I  believe  that  this  extra  covering 
for  the  neck,  instead  of  preventing  disease  of  the  throat 
and  lungs,  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  such  dis- 
ease. These  parts  being  thus  thickly  covered  during 
exercise,  become  very  warm,  and  an  excessive  local  per- 
spiration is  excited ;  and  the  dampness  of  the  throat  is 


•J40  THKORV  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

much  increased  if  the  covering  extends  above  the  mouth 
and  nose,  thus  precluding  the  escape  of  the  exhalations 
from  the  lungs.  When,  therefore,  this  covering  is  re- 
moved, even  within-doors,  a  very  rapid  evaporation  takes 
place,  and  a  severe  cold  is  the  consequence.  In  this  way 
a  cold  is  renewed  every  day,  and  hoarseness  of  the 
throat  and  irritation  of  the  lungs  is  the  necessary  result. 
Very  soon  the  clergyman  or  teacher  breaks  down  with 
the  bronchitis,  or  the  "  lung  complaint,"  and  is  obliged 
for  a  season  at  least  to  suspend  his  labors.  This  difficulty 
is  very  much  enhanced,  if  the  ordinary  neck-dress  is  a  stiff 
stock,  which,  standing  off  from  the  neck,  allows  the  in- 
gress of  the  cold  arr  as  soon  as  the  outer  covering  is  re- 
moved. 

Experience. — Having  suffered  myself  very  severely 
from  this  cause  and  having  seen  hundreds  of  cases  in 
others,  I  was  desirous  to  bear  the  testimony  of  my  exper- 
ience against  the  practice, — and  to  suggest  to  all  who 
have  occasion  to  speak  long  and  often  that  the  simplest 
covering  for  the  neck  is  the  best.  A  very  light  cravat 
is  all  that  is  necessary. 

Swaddling  of  the  Neck. — If  the  ordinary  cravat  be  too 
thick  and  too  warm,  as  the  large-sized  white  cravats,  so 
fashionable  with  the  clergy,  usually  are,  during  the  exer- 
cise of  speaking,  an  unnatural  flow  of  blood  to  the  parts 
will  be  induced,  which,  after  the  exercise  ceases,  will  be 
followed  by  debility  and  prostration.  A  cold  is  then  very 
readily  taken  and  disease  follows.  I  am  confident,  from 
my  own  experience  and  immediate  observation,  that  this 
unnatural  swaddling  of  the  neck  is  one  of  the  most  fruit- 
ful causes  of  disease  of  the  lungs  and  throat  that  can  be 
mentioned. 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  II IS  PROFESSION.  241 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION. 

Teaching  a  Profession. — It  has  long  been  the  opinion 
of  the  best  minds  in  our  country,  as  well  as  in  the  most 
enlightened  countries  of  Europe,  that  teaching  should 
be  a  profession.     It  has  been   alleged,   and  with    much 
justice,  that  this  calling,  which  demands  for  its  successful 
exercise  the  best  of  talents,  the  most  persevering  energy, 
and  the  largest  share  of  self-denial,  has  never  attained  an 
appreciation  in  the  public  mind  at  all  commensurate  with 
its  importance.     It  has  by  no  means  received  the  emolu- 
ment, either  of  money  or  honor,  which  strict  justice  would 
award  in  any  other  department  to  the  talents  and  exer- 
tions required  for  this.  This  having  been  so  long  the  con- 
dition of  things,  much  of  the  best  talent  has  been  attracted 
at  once  to  the  other  professions-  or  if  exercised  awhile  in 
this,  the  temptation  of  more  lucrative  reward,  or  of  more 
speedy  if  not  more  lasting  honor,  has   soon  diverted  it 
from  teaching,  where  so  little  of  either  can  be  realized, 
to  engage  in  some  other  department  of  higher  promise. 
So  true  is  this  that  scarcely  a  man  can  be  found,  having 
attained  to  any  considerable  eminence  as  a  teacher,  who 
has  not  been  several  times  solicited — and  perhaps  strongly 
tempted — to    engage    in   some    more    lucrative   employ- 
ment ;  and   while  there  have  always    been  some  strong 
men,  who  have  preferred  teaching  to  any  other  calling 
— men  who  would  do  honor  to  any  profession,  and  who, 
while  exercising  this,   have  found  that  highest  of  all  re- 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

wards,  the  consciousness  of  being  useful  to  others, — 
still  it  must  be  confessed  that  teachers  have  too  often 
been  of  just  that  class  which  a  knowledge  of  the  cir- 
cumstances might  lead  us  to  predict  would  engage  in 
teaching ;  men  of  capacity  too  limited  for  the  other 
professions,  of  a  temperament  too  sluggish  to  engage  in 
the  labors- of  active  employment,  of  manners  too  rude  to 
be  tolerated  except  in  the  society  of  children  (?),  and 
sometimes  of  a  morality  so  pernicious  as  to  make  them 
the  unfailing  contaminators  of  the  young  whenever  per 
mitted — not  to  teach — but  to  "keep  school."  Thus  two 
great  evils  have  been  mutually  strengthening  each  other. 
The  indifference  of  the  employers  to  the  importance  of 
good  teachers,  and  their  parsimony  in  meting  out  the 
rewards  of  teaching,  have  called  into  the  field  large 
numbers,  in  the  strictest  sense,  unworthy  of  all  reward  ; 
while  this  very  unworthiness  of  the  teachers  has  been 
made  the  excuse  for  further  indifference,  and  if  possible 
for  greater  meanness  on  the  part  of  employers.  Such 
has  been  the  state  of  the  case  for  many  years  past ;  and 
such  is  to  a  great  extent  the  fact  at  present. 

Educational  Millennium. — It  has  been  the  ardent 
wish  of  many  philanthropists  that  this  deplorable  state 
of  affairs  should  be  exchanged  for  a  better.  Hence 
they  have  urged  that  teaching  should  be  constituted  a 
profession  ;  that  none  should  enter  this  profession  but 
those  who  are  thoroughly  qualified  to  discharge  the 
high  trust ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  that  the  people 
should  more  liberally  reward  and  honor  those  who  are 
thus  qualified  and  employed.  This  would  indeed  be  a 
very  desirable  change  ,  it  would  be  the  educational  mil- 
lennium of  the  world.  For  such  a  period  we  all  may  well 
devoutly  pray. 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION.  243 

How  Ushered  in,  Different  Views. — But  how  shall  this 
glorious  age — not  yet  arrived — be  ushered  in  ?  By  whose 
agency,  and  by  what  happy  instrumentality,  must  its  ap- 
proach be  hastened?  Here,  as  in  all  great  enterprises, 
there  is  some  difference  of  opinion.  Some  have  urged 
that  the  establishment  of  normal  schools  and  other  semi- 
naries for  the  better  education  of  teachers,  and  the  in- 
stitution of  a  more  vigilant  system  of  supervision,  by 
which  our  schools  should  be  effectually  guarded  against 
the  intrusion  of  the  ignorant  and  inefficient  teacher,  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  bring  in  this  brighter  day.  Others 
have  zealously  urged  that  such  preparation  and  such  super- 
vision are  entirely  superfluous  and  premature  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  public  mind.  They  say  that  the  public 
must  first  become  more  liberal  in  its  appropriations  for 
schools  ;  it  must  at  once  double  the  amount  it  has  been 
accustomed  to  pay  to  teachers,  and  thus  secure,  without 
further  trouble,  the  best  talent  to  this  vocation.  To  this 
the  former  class  reply,  that  the  public  has  seldom  been 
known  to  raise  its  price,  so  long  as  its  wants  could  be 
supplied  at  the  present  rates.  They  say  that  the  last 
century  has  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  this  voluntary  generosity  of  the  public,  and  yet 
we  still  wait  to  see  this  anomaly  in  human  prudence,  of 
offering  in  advance  to  pay  double  the  price  for  the  same 
thing;  for  until  better  teachers  are  raised  up,  it  must 
be  an  advance  upon  the  present  stock.  So  there  is  a 
division  among  them,  "  for  some  cry  one  thing  and  some 
another." 

A  Mutual  Evil,  and  a  Mutual  Remedy. — Now,  I  be- 
lieve, in  this  case  as  in  most  others,  the  truth  lies  between 
the  extremes.  As  the  evil  complained  of  is  a  mutua/one, 
as  has  already  been  shown, — that  is,  an  illiberal  public  has 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

tolerated  incompetent  teachers,  and  the  incompetence  of 
teachers  has  enhanced  in  turn  the  parsimony  of  the  pub- 
lic,— so  the  remedy  must  be  a  mutual  one  ;  the  public 
must  be  enlightened  and  teachers  must  be  improved  ;  the 
pay  of  teachers  must  be  raised,  but  there  must  be  also 
something  to  warrant  the  higher  rate.  Nor  is  it  easy  to 
determine  which  shall  begin  first.  We  can  hardly  expect 
the  people  to  pay  more  till  they  find  an  article  worth 
more  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  we  expect  the  teach- 
ers to  incur  any  considerable  outlay  to  improve  them- 
selves, until  better  encouragement  shall  be  held  out  to 
them  by  their  employers.  The  two  must  generally  pro- 
ceed together.  Just  as,  in  the  descending  scale,  there  was 
a  mutual  downward  tendency,  so  here  better  service  will 
command  better  pay,  and  in  turn  the  liberality  of  em- 
ployers will  stimulate  the  employed  to  still  higher  at- 
tainments in  knowledge  and  greater  exertions  in  their 
labors. 

Teacher's  Duty. — In  this  condition  of  things,  the  ques- 
tion recurs,  What  is  the  duty  of  teachers  in  relation  to 
their  calling?  I  answer,  they  are  bound  to  do  what 
they  can  to  elevate  it.  Lord  Bacon  said,  "  Every  man 
owes  a  debt  to  his  profession."  Teachers  being  sup- 
posed to  be  more  intelligent  than  the  mass  of  the  com- 
munity, may  justly  take  the  lead  in  the  work  of  progress. 
They  should,  as  a  matter  of  duty,  take  hold  of  this 
work, — a  work  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial  as  it  will 
be,  at  least  for  some  time, — and  heartily  do  what  they 
can  to  magnify  their  office  and  make  it  honorable. 
In  the  meantime  they  may  do  what  they  can  to  arouse 
the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  duty.  The  'tnore  en- 
lightened are  to  some  extent  with  them  already.  The 
press,  the  pulpit,  the  legislative  .assemblies,  all  proclaim 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION.  245 

that  something  must  be  done.  All  admit  the  faithful 
teacher  has  not  been  duly  rewarded,  and  some  are  found 
who  are  willing  to  do  something  for  the  improvement 
both  of  the  mind  and  condition  of  the  teacher.  This  is 
encouraging ;  and  while  we  rejoice  at  the  few  gleams  of 
light  that  betoken  our  dawning,  let  us  inquire,  for  a  little 
space,  how  we  can  hasten  the  "  coming  in  of  the  perfect 
day." 

SECTION   I.      SELF-CULTURE. 

Self-improvement — Why  Important. —  The  teacher 
should  labor  diligently  to  improve  himself.  This  is  a  duty 
incumbent  on  all  persons,  but  particularly  upon  the  teacher. 
The  very  nature  of  his  employment  demands  that  his  mind 
should  be  frequently  replenished  from  the  storehouses 
of  knowledge.  To  interest  children  in  their  studies, 
how  necessary  is  it  that  the  teacher's  mind  should  be 
thoroughly  furnished  with  the  richest  thoughts  of  the 
wise ;  to  inspire  them  with  a  desire  to  learn,  how  im- 
portant that  he  should  be  a  living  example  of  the  ad- 
vantage and  enjoyment  which  learning  alone  can  be- 
stow ;  to  strew  the  path  of  knowledge  with  flowers,  and 
thus  make  it  the  path  of  pleasantness,  how  desirable 
that  he  should  abound  with  the  aptest  illustrations 
drawn  from  all  that  is  wonderful  and  curious  in  nature 
and  art ;  to  awaken  the  young  mind  to  a  consciousness 
of  its  capacities,  its  wants,  its  responsibilities,  how 
thoroughly  should  he  know  all  the  workings  of  the 
human  soul — how  wisely  and  carefully  should  he  touch 
the  springs  of  action, — how  judiciously  should  he  call  to 
his  aid  the  conscience  and  the  religious  feelings! 

Example. — Besides,  let  it  be  remembered  that  in  this 
as  in  other  things,  the  teacher's  example  is  of  great  im- 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

portance.  The  young  will  be  very  likely  to  judge  of  the 
importance  of  their  own  improvement  by  the  estimate 
the  teacher  practically  places  upon  his ;  nor  can  he  with 
any  good  grace  press  his  pupils  to  exertion,  while  they 
see  that  he  makes  none  whatever  himself. 

Temptations  to  Self-neglect. — There  is  great  danger, 
in  the  midst  of  the  confinement  and  fatigue  of  the  school- 
room, and  the  pressure  of  anxiety  and  care  out  of  school, 
that  the  teacher  will  yield  to  the  temptations  of  his  posi- 
tion, and  fall  into  habits  of  indolence  as  to  his  own  im- 
provement. Compelled,  as  he  often  is,  to  labor  at  great 
disadvantage,  by  reason  of  a  small  and  poorly  furnished 
schoolroom  ;  confined  through  the  day  from  the  sunshine 
and  the  fresh  breeze  ;  subjected  to  a  constant  pressure  of 
duty  amid  untold  trials  of  his  patience,  arising  from  the 
law  that  impels  children  to  be  active  as  well  as  inconsid- 
erate ;  required  to  concentrate  his  powers  upon  the  double 
duty  of  governing  and  teaching  at  the  same  instant,  and 
all  through  the  session, — it  is  not  strange,  when  the  hour 
of  release  comes,  that  he  should  seek  rest  or  recreation  at 
the  nearest  point,  even  to  the  neglect  of  his  own  mental 
or  moral  culture.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  this  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  so  many  persons  enter  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion, and  continue  in  it  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period, 
without  making  the  slightest  progress  either  in  the  art 
of  teaching  or  in  their  own  intellectual  growth.  Their 
first  school,  indeed,  is  often  their  best.  This  tendency 
or  temptation,  incident  to  the  calling,  it  is  the  teacher's 
duty  constantly  and  manfully  to  resist.  He  can  do  it. 

i.  The  Teacher  Has  Time. — He  has  the  time  to  do  it. 
He  is  usually  required  to  spend  but  six  hours  in  the  day 
in  the  schoolroom.  Suppose  he  add  two  hours  more  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  over  his  lessons  and  devising 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION.          247 

plans  for  improving  his  school, — he  will  still  have  six- 
teen hours  for  sleep,  exercise,  recreation  and  improve- 
ment. Eight  hours  are  sufficient  for  sleep,  especially  for 
a  sedentary  man  (some  say  less),  and  four  will  provide 
for  meals,  exercise  and  recreation.  Four  still  remain  for 
improvement.  Any  teacher  who  is  systematic  and  eco- 
nomical in  the  use  of  his  time  can  reserve  for  the  purpose 
of  his  own  improvement  four  hours  in  every  twenty-four, 
and  this  without  the  slightest  detriment  to  his  school 
duties  or  to  his  health,  To  be  sure  he  must  lead  a  regular 
life.  He  must  have  a  plan  and  systematically  follow  it. 

Punctuality  in  All  Things.  He  must  be  punctual at 
his  school,  at  his  meals,  at  his  exercise  or  recreation,  at 
his  hour  of  retiring  and  rising,  and  at  his  studies.  Nor 
should  he  ordinarily  devote  more  time  than  I  have  men- 
tioned directly  to  his  school.  He  should  labor  with  his 
whole  soul  while  he  does  work,  and  he  will  the  more 
heartily  do  this,  if  he  has  had  time  to  think  of  some- 
thing else  during  the  season  of  respite  from  labor.  It  is 
a  great  mistake  that  teachers  make  when  they  think  they 
shall  be  more  successful  by  devoting  all  their  thoughts  to 
their  schools.  Very  soon  the  school  comes  to  occupy 
their  sleeping  as  well  as  waking  hours,  and  troublesome 
dreams  disturb  the  repose  of  night.  Such  men  must  soon 
wear  out. 

But  according  to  the  laws  of  our  nature,  by  a  change 
of  occupation,  the  jaded  faculties  find  rest.  By  taking 
up  some  new  subject  of  inquiry,  the  intellect  is  relieved 
from  the  sense  of  fatigue  which  before  oppressed  it ;  the 
thoughts  play  freely  again,  the  animation  returns,  the 
eye  kindles,  and  the  mind  expands. 

2.  Immediate  Reward. — Such  labor  finds  immediate 
reward.  The  consciousness  of  growth  is  no  small  thing 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

towards  encouraging  the  teacher.  He  feels  that  he  is  no 
longer  violating  his  nature  by  allowing  himself  to  stag- 
nate. Then  he  will  find  every  day  that  he  can  apply  the 
newly-acquired  truth  to  the  illustration  of  some  principle 
he  is  attempting  to  teach.  He  has  encouraging  and 
immediate  £roof  that  he  is  a  better  teacher,  and  that  he 
has  made  himself  so  by  timely  exertion.  He  is  thus 
again  stimulated  to  rise  above  those  temptations  before 
described — this  immediate  availability  of  his  acquire* 
ments  being  vouchsafed  to  the  teacher,  as  it  is  not  to 
most  men,  in  order  to  prompt  him  to  stem  the  current 
which  resists  his  progress. 

How  to  Improve. — And  now,  if  I  have  shown  that  a 
teacher  is  bound  to  improve  himself,  both  from  a  regard 
to  his  own  well-being  and  the  influence  of  his  example 
upon  others — and  if  I  have  also  shown  that  he  can  im- 
prove himself,  I  may  be  indulged  in  making  a  few  sug- 
gestions as  to  the  manner  of  his  doing  it. 

i.  He  should  have  a  Course  of  Professional  Read- 
ing.— It  will  do  much  for  his  improvement  to  read  the 
works  of  those  who  have  written  on  the  subject  of  edu- 
cation and  the  art  of  teaching.  If  possible  he  should 
collect  and  possess  a  small  educational  library.  It  will 
be  of  great  service  to  him  to  be  able  to  read  more  than 
once  such  suggestions  as  are  abundantly  contained  in 
the  "  Teacher's  Manual,"  by  Palmer  ;  the  "  School  and 
Schoolmaster,"  by  Potter  and  Emerson  ;  the  "  Teacher," 
by  Abbott ;  the  "  Teacher  Taught,"  by  Davis  ;  M  Lectures 
on  Schoolkeeping,"  by  Hall  •  "  The  Common  School 
Journal,'1  "  Secretary's  Reports,"  and  "  Lectures,"  by 
Horace  Mann  ;  the  "Connecticut  Common  School  Jour- 
nal," and  "  Journal  of  the  Rhode  Island  Institute,"  by 
H.  Barnard  ;  the  "  District  School  Journal  "  of  New  York, 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  II IS  PROFESSI*  249 

by  Francis  Dwight  and  others  ;  the  '•  Lectures  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Instruction  ;"  the  •'  Schoolmaster's 
Friend,"  by  T.  Dwight;  the  "District  School,"  by  J. 
Orville  Taylor  ;  the  "  Teacher's  Advocate,"  by  Cooper  ; 
the  writings,  if  they  can  be  obtained,  of  Wyse,  of  Cousin, 
of  Lalor,  of  Lord  Brougham  on  Education,  together 
with  such  other  works  as  are  known  to  contain  sound  and 
practical  views.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  every 
teacher  will  possess  all  these,  or  that  he  will  read  them 
all  in  a  single  term.  But  it  is  well  to  hold  converse  with 
other  minds,  and  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  review  their 
best  thoughts  whenever  our  own  need  refreshing.  I  have 
given  a  somewhat  extended  list  of  books,  because  the  in- 
quiry is  now  so  often  made  by  teachers  what  they  shall 
read. 

2.  By  Pursuing  Systematically  a  Course  of  General 
Study.  —  Many  teachers  who  have  a  desire  to  improve 
themselves,  still  fritter  away  their  time  upon  little  mis- 
cellaneous matters,  without  making  real  progress.  It  is 
well  in  this  to  have  a  plan.  Let  some  one  study, — it 
may  be  geology,  or  astronomy,  or  chemistry,  or  botany, 
or  the  pure  mathematics, — let  some  one  study  receive 
constant  attention  till  no  mean  attainments  have  been 
made  in  it.  By  taking  one  thing  at  a  time  and  diligently 
pursuing  it,  at  the  end  of  a  term  the  teacher  feels  that 
he  has  something  to  show  for  his  labor, — and  he  is,  by 
the  advance  already  made,  prepared  to  take  the  next 
and  more  difficult  step.  In  a  course  of  years,  while  a 
neighbor  who  began  teaching  at  the  same  time,  has  been 
stagnating  or  even  retrograding  for  the  want  of  a  plan 
and  a  purpose,  a  diligent  man,  by  system  and  presever- 
ance,  may  make  himself  at  least  equal  to  many  who  have 
enjoyed  better  advantages  in  early  life,  and  at  the  same 


250  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

time  have  the  superadded  enjoyment  of  feeling  that  he 
has  been  his  own  teacher. 

3.  Keep  a  Journal  or  Common-place  Book. — The 
habit  of  composing  daily  is  very  valuable  to  the  teacher. 
In  this  book  he  may  record  whatever  plans  he  has  devised 
with  their  results  in  practice.  He  may  enter  remarkable 
cases  of  discipline — in  short,  anything  which  in  the 
course  of  his  practice  he  finds  interesting.  Those  valu- 
able suggestions  which  he  receives  from  others,  or  hints 
that  he  may  derive  from  books,  may  be  epitomized  here, 
and  thus  be  treasured  up  for  future  reference.  Some- 
times one's  best  thoughts  fade  from  his  own  mind,  and 
he  has  no  power  to  recall  them.  Such  a  book  would 
preserve  them,  and  would  moreover  show  the  character 
of  one's  thoughts  at  any  particular  period,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  thought,  from  one  period  to  another,  better  than 
any  other  means.1 

To  these  means  of  self-culture  I  would  add  the  practice 
of  carefully  reading  and  writing  on  chosen  subjects,  more 
fully  described  in  the  chapter  on  "  Habits  of  the  Teacher." 

Encouragement  to  Others. — By  all  these  means  and 
such  others  as  may  come  within  his  reach,  if  a  teacher 
succeeds  in  his  attempts  at  progress,  he  does  much  for 
his  profession.  The  very  fact  that  he  has  given  practical 
demonstration  that  a  man  may  teach  and  still  improve ; 
that  the  temptations  of  his  profession  maybe  resisted  and 
overcome ;  that  the  life  of  the  pedagogue  which  has  re- 
quired him  to  keep  the  company  of  small  minds,  and  to 
be  occupied  with  minute  objects,  has  never  prevented  his 
holding  communion  with  the  greatest  men  our  earth  has 
known  nor  circumscribed  in  the  least  the  sphere  of  his 
grasping  research, — I  say  the  very  fact  that  he  has  thus 

iFor  further  remarks  on  the  Common-place  Book,  see  chap.  vii.  p.  108,  note. 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION.  251 

shown  what  a    man  may  do  under  such  circumstances, 
may  do  much  to  encourage  others  to  like  effort. 

But  there  are  other  and  direct  duties  which  he  owes  to 
his  profession,  which  I  proceed  to  consider  under  the 
head  of 

SECTION   II.      MUTUAL  AID. 

Selfishness. — Every  teacher  should  be  willing  to  im- 
part as  well  as  to  receive  good.  No  one,  whatever  may 
be  his  personal  exertions,  can  monopolize  all  the  wisdom 
of  the  world.  The  French  have  a  proverb  that  "  Every- 
body is  wiser  than  anybody."  Acting  on  this  principle, 
the  teacher  should  be  willing  to  bring  his  attainments 
into  the  common  stock,  and  to  diffuse  around  him,  as 
far  as  he  is  able,  the  light  he  possesses.  I  have  no  lan- 
guage with  which  to  express  my  abhorrence  of  that 
selfishness  which  prompts  a  man,  after  attaining  to 
some  eminence  as  a  teacher  by  the  free  use  of  all  the 
means  within  his  reach,  self-complacently  to  stand  aloof 
from  his  fellow-teachers,  as  if  he  would  say :  "  Brethren, 
help  yourselves —  I  have  no  need  of  you,  and  you  have 
no  claim  upon  me.  I  have  toiled  hard  for  my  emi- 
nence, and  the  secret  is  with  me.  I  will  enjoy  it  alone. 
When  you  have  toiled  as  long,  you  may  be  as  wise. 
Brethren,  help  yourselves."  Such  a  spirit  would  perhaps 
be  tolerated  by  the  world  in  an  avaricious  man,  who  had 
labored  to  treasure  up  the  shining  dust  of  earth.  But  no 
man  may  innocently  monopolize  knowledge.  The  light 
of  the  sun  is  shed  in  golden  refulgence  upon  every  man, 
and  no  one,  if  he  would,  may  separate  a  portion  for  his 
own  exclusive  use  by  closing  his  shutters  about  him — for 
that  moment  his  light  becomes  darkness.  It  is  thus  with 
the  light  of  knowledge.  Like  the  air  we  breathe,  or  like 


262  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

the  rain  from  heaven,  it  should  be  free  to  all.  The  man 
who  would  lock  up  the  treasures  of  learning  from  the 
gaze  of  the  whole  world,  whether  in  the  tomes  of  some 
dusty  library,  as  of  old  it  was  done,  or  in  the  recesses  of 
his  narrower  soul,  is  unworthy  of  the  name  of  man  ;  he 
certainly  has  not  the  spirit  of  the  teacher. 

An  Exclusive  Spirit  without  Excuse. — An  exclusive 
spirit  may  be  borne  where  meaner  things,  as  houses,  and 
lands,  and  gold,  are  at  stake ;  but  in  education  and  re- 
ligion,— light  and  love, — where  giving  doth  not  impover- 
ish nor  withholding  make  rich,  there  is  not  even  the 
shadow  of  an  excuse  for  it.  The  man  who  is  exclusive 
in  these  things  would  be  so,  I  fear,  in  heaven. 

Hoiv  can  Teachers  Encourage  Each  Other  f 

i.  By  Mutual  Visitation. — Very  much  maybe  done 
by  social  intercourse.  Two  teachers  can  scarcely  converse 
together  an  hour  without  benefiting  each  other.  The 
advantages  of  intercourse  with  friends,  as  delineated  by 
Dr.  Young,  may  not  be  denied  to  teachers: 

"  Hast  thou  no  friend  to  set  thy  mind  abroach  ? 
Good  sense  will  stagnate.    Thoughts  shut  up  want  air. 
And  spoil  like  bales  unopened  to  the  sun. 
Had  thought  been  all,  sweet  speech  had  been  denied. 

******* 
Thought,  too.  delivered,  is  the  mor«  possessed  : 
Teaching,  we  learn  ;  and  giving,  we  retain 
The  births  of  intellect ;  when  dumb,  forgot. 
Speech  ventilates  our  intellectual  fire  ; 
Speech  burnishes  our  mental  magazine, 
Brightens  for  ornament,  and  whets  for  use." 

Even  One's  Fauits  may  Instruct  Us. — But  not  only 
should  teachers  visit  one  another— it  is  profitable  also 
for  them  to  visit  each  other's  schools.  I  have  never 
spent  an  hour  in  the  school  of  another  without  gaining 
some  instruction.  Sometimes  a  new  way  of  illustrating 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION. 

a  difficult  point,  sometimes  an  exhibition  of  tact  in 
managing  a  difficult  case  in  discipline,  sometimes  an 
improved  method  of  keeping  up  the  interest  in  a  class, 
would  suggest  the  means  of  making  my  own  labors  the 
more  successful.  And  even  should  one's  neighbor  be  a 
bad  teacher,  one  may  sometimes  learn  as  much  from 
witnessing  glaring  defects  as  great  excellences.  Some 
of  the  most  profitable  lessons  I  have  ever  received  have 
been  drawn  from  the  deficiencies  of  a  fellow-teacher. 
We  seldom  "see  ourselves  as  others  see  us  ;  "  and  we  are 
often  insensible  of  our  own  faults  till  we  have  seen 
them  strikingly  exhibited  by  another,  and  then  by  a 
comparison  we  correct  our  own. 

Receiving  and  Imparting  Good. — Besides,  by  a 
visitation  of  a  friend's  school  we  may  not  only  receive 
good,  but  we  may  impart  it.  If  there  is  mutual  confi- 
dence, a  few  words  may  aid  him  to  correct  his  faults,  if  he 
has  any — faults  which  but  for  such  suggestion  might 
grow  into  confirmed  habit,  to  his  permanent  injury. 

Stated  Teachers'  Meetings. —  So  important  is  this 
mutual  visitation  among  teachers  as  a  means  of  improve- 
ment, that  I  doubt  not  employers  would  find  it  for  their 
interest  to  encourage  it  by  allowing  the  teachers  to  set 
apart  an  occasional  half  day  for  this  purpose. 

Their  Use. — It  would,  moreover,  be  very  useful  for 
the  teachers  of  a  town  to  hold  stated  meetings,  as  often 
as  once  a  month,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  improvement. 
It  would  cultivate  a  fellow-feeling  among  them,  and  it 
would  afford  them  an  opportunity  to  exchange  thoughts 
on  most  of  the  difficulties  which  they  meet  in  their 
schools,  and  the  best  methods  of  surmounting  them.  At 
these  meetings  a  mutual  exchange  of  books  on  the  sub- 
ject of  teaching  would  extend  the  facilities  of  each  for 


•J11  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

improving  his  own  mind  and  his  own  methods  of  instruc- 
tion and  government. 

2.  By  the  Use  of  the  Pen.  —  Every  teacher  should 
be  a  ready  writer.  Nearly  every  teacher  could  gain  ac- 
cess to  the  columns  of  some  paper,  through  which  he 
could  impart  the  results  of  his  experience,  or  of  his  re- 
flection. Such  a  course  would  benefit  him  specially, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  would  awaken  other  minds  to 
thought  and  action.  In  this  way  the  attention,  not 
only  of  teachers  but  parents,  would  be  called  to  the 
great  work  of  education.  One  mind  in  this  way  might 
move  a  thousand.  If  a  teacher  does  not  feel  qualified  to 
instruct,  let  him  inquire,  and  thus  call  out  the  wisdom 
of  others.  This  could  be  done  in  nearly  every  village. 
The  press  is  almost  always  ready  to  promote  the  cause 
of  education.  By  the  use  of  it,  teachers  may  profitably 
discuss  all  the  great  questions  pertaining  to  their  duty, 
and  at  the  same  time  enlighten  the  community  in  which 
they  live.  This  is  an  instrumentality  as  yet  too  little 
employed. 

By  Teachers'  Associations,  or  Institutes. — These  are 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  diffusion  of  the  best  plans  of 
instruction.  Rightly  conducted,  they  can  never  fail  of 
being  useful.  Every  man  who  lectures  or  teaches  is 
profited  by  the  preparation.  If  he  is  a  man  of  wisdom 
and  experience,  he  will  benefit  his  hearers.  If  other- 
wise, the  discussion,  which  should  ever  follow  a  lecture, 
will  expose  its  fallacies.  It  has  often  happened  in  such 
associations  that  an  honest  and  experienced  man  has  in 
a  half  hour,  given  to  the  younger  portion  of  the  mem- 
bers lessons  of  wisdom  which  it  would  take  them  years 
to  learn  by  their  own  observation.  Errors  in  principle 
and  practice  have  been  exposed,  into  which  many  a 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  1'KOFKSSIuV 

young  teacher  was  unconsciously  falling,  and  hints  have 
been  given  to  the  quicker  minds  by  which  their  own 
modes  of  teaching  and  governing  have  been  speedily 
improved. 

Should  be  Practical. — As  far  as  possible,  such  meetings 
should  be  made  strictly  practical.  The  older  teachers, 
who  usually  have  the  most  to  do  with  the  management 
of  them,  should  bear  in  mind  that  they  are  mainly  de- 
signed to  diffuse  practical  ideas  of  teaching,  particularly 
among  the  younger  members.  Too  often  these  meet- 
ings are  made  the  arena  of  debate  upon  questions  of 
very  little  practical  importance  to  the  teacher.  I  have 
seen  a  body  of  men  spend  an  entire  session  of  a  half  day 
in  discussing  a  series  of  overwrought  resolutions,  upon 
some  topic  scarcely  at  all  connected  with  any  duty  of  the 
teacher,  frequently  leaving  the  main  question  to  wrangle 
about  some  point  of  order,  or  of  "  parliamentary  usage;  " 
and  after  the  resolutions  were  passed  or  rejected,  as  the 
case  might  be — (and  it  was  of  very  little  consequence 
whether  "  carried  "  or  "  lost  ") — the  ladies  and  younger 
teachers  who  had  borne  no  part  in  the  talk  would  find 
it  difficult  to  tell  "  wherefore  they  had  come  together." 
Nothing  had  been  said  or  done  by  which  they  could  be 
aided  in  their  schools.  Lecturers,  too,  have  frequently  mis- 
taken their  aim.  Ambitious  to  shine  out  as  literary  men, 
they  have  given  orations  instead  of  practical  lessons.  In 
these  meetings,  it  seems  to  me,  nothing  ostentatious, 
nothing  far-fetched,  is  what  we  need;  but  rather  the 
modes  and  experience  of  practical  men.  We  need  to 
come  down  to  the  schoolroom,  to  the  every-day  business 
of  the  teacher,  and  thus  prepare  him  to  do  his  work  more 
successfully  on  his  return  to  his  duties. 


T1IKORY  AXP   I'KACTICK  OF  TKA 

Encouragement  by  Meeting  Friends. — Another,  and 
no  inconsiderable  advantage  of  such  associations,  is  that 
the  teacher  gains  encouragement  and  strength  by  being 
thus  brought  in  contact  with  others  engaged  in  the 
same  pursuit.  Toiling  on  alone  in  his  isolated  district, 
surrounded  by  obstacles  and  discouragements,  weighed 
down  by  care,  and  finding  none  to  sympathize  with  him, 
he  is  almost  ready  to  faint  in  his  course,  and  "perhaps  to 
abandon  his  calling.  At  this  crisis  he  reads  the  notice 
for  the  teachers'  meeting,  and  he  resolves  to  go  up  once 
more  to  the  gathering  of  his  friends.  From  the  various 
parts  of  the  country,  from  the  populous  and  crowded 
city,  and  from  the  byways  of  the  country-towns,  a 
goodly  number  collect  together  and  greet  each  other. 
Smile  answers  to  smile,  the  blood  courses  more  freely 
through  the  veins,  the  spirits  long  depressed  perhaps, 
partake  of  the  general  glow,  and  each  feels  that  he  is 
not  toiling  alone.  He  feels  that  a  noble  brotherhood  of 
kindred  spirits  are  laboring  in  the  same  field,  under 
trials  and  discouragements  similar  to  those  which  have 
oppressed  him.  He  derives  new  strength  from  the  sym- 
pathy of  friends. 

Light  Breaks  in. — A  professional  feeling  is  engen- 
dered, which  will  accompany  him  to  his  schoolroom  ;  and 
when  he  goes  home,  it  is  with  renewed  vigor  and  fresh 
aspirings  to  be  a  better  man  and  a  better  teacher.  He 
labors  with  more  confidence  in  himself;  and,  enlightened 
by  what  he  has  seen  and  heard,  he  is  far  more  successful 
than  before.  His  pupils,  too,  respond  to  the  new  life 
they  see  enkindling  in  him,  and  go  to  their  work  more 
cheerfully.  One  difficulty  after  another  vanishes,  and  he 
begins  to  think  teaching,  after  all,  is  not  the  worst  em- 
ployment in  the  world,  but  that  it  has  some  flowers  as 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  PROFESSION.          257 

well  as  thorns,  and  he  concludes  to  remain  in  the  pro- 
fession. This  has  been  the  history  of  at  least  one  man. 
Long  may  many  others  have  occasion  to  exercise  grati- 
tude like  his  for  the  enjoyment  of  similar  privileges.1 

Cautions. — I  ought  not  to  leave  this  subject  without  a 
word  or  two  of  caution. 

i.  Be  Honest. — In  all  your  intercourse  with  your  fel- 
low-teachers, be  careful  to  use  the  words  of  "  truth  and 
soberness."  In  stating  your  experience,  never  allow  your 
fancy  to  embellish  your  facts.  Of  this  there  Is  great 
danger.  The  young  are  sometimes  tempted  to  tell  a 
good  story ;  but  a  deviation  from  the  truth — always 
perilous,  and  always  wrong — may  be  peculiarly  disastrous 
here.  Experience  overstated  may  egregiously  mislead 
the  unwary  inquirer  after  truth.  Never  over-color  the 
picture  ;  it  is  better  to  err  on  the  other  side. 

Every-day  Practice. — So,  likewise,  in  exhibiting  your 
school  to  fellow-teachers,  be  strictly  honest.  They  come 
to  learn  from  your  every-day  practice,  and  not  from  a 
counterfeit ;  and  whenever  you  dress  your  school  in  a 
showy  garb  to  win  the  applause  of  a  fellow-teacher,  you 
do  him  a  great  injustice.  You  may  not  please  your 
friend  so  much  by  your  ordinary  mode  as  by  something 
assumed  for  the  occasion  ;  but  you  may  profit  him  far 
more,  and  in  the  end  you  lose  nothing  by  pursuing  the 
line  of  duty. 

iThe  Essex  County  Teachers'  Association,  in  Massachusetts,  was  first  organ- 
ized  in  1839,  and  for  seventeen  years  its  meetings  of  two  days  each  have  been 
held  semi-annually,  and  usually  very  fully  attended.  This  association  has 
wrought  an  untold  amount  of  usefulness  by  its  improvement  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  teachers  of  that  county,  and  at  this  time  it  continues  to  diffuse  its 
wonted  blessings.  A  more  intelligent  and  devoted  body  of  teachers  cannot  be 
found  in  the  United  States  than  those  who  now  compose  that  association. 
Long  may  it  continue  to  irradiate  its  glorious  light,  and  long:  may  its  devoted 
members  enjoy  the  well-merited  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  they 
labor ! 


358  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

"  Nothing  Extraordinary." — I  well  remember  that  a 
somewhat  distinguished  teacher  once  visited  my  own 
school,  who  on  going  away  expressed  himself  somewhat 
disappointed,  because  he  did  not  see  anything  "  extraor- 
dinaary"  as  he  said,  in  my  mode  of  procedure.  The 
truth  was,  nothing  extraordinary  was  attempted.  He 
saw  what  I  wished  to  show  him — an  ordinary  day's  work ; 
for  I  had  before  that  time  imbibed  the  opinion  that  a 
man's  reputation  will  be  more  firmly  established  by  sus- 
taining every  day  a  fair  mediocrity  than  it  ever  can  be 
by  an  attempt  to  outdo  himself  on  a  few  special  occas- 
sions.  As  the  value  of  biographical  writing  is  often 
very  much  diminished  because  the  writer  has  en- 
deavored to  paint  his  character  too  perfect  to  be  human,  so 
these  visitations  will  lose  their  utility  whenever,  by  sub- 
stituting hollow  pretension  for  sober  reality,  the  teacher 
endeavors  to  exhibit  such  a  school  as  he  does  not  daily 
keep. 

2.  Avoid  Servile  Imitation  of  Any  Model.— It  is 
often  remarked  that  every  man's  plan  is  the  best  for  him, 
and  that  many  besides  David  can  never  fight  in  Saul's 
armor.  This  is  generally  true.  All  experience,  then, 
should  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  tried,  never  forgetting  the  'character 
and  genius  of  the  person  who  relates  it.  What  might 
succeed  in  his  hand  may  fail  in  yours — particularly  as  you 
will  lack  the  interest  of  an  original  inventor. 

Adapt  Rather  than  Adopt  Another's  Plans.— The 
true  secret  lies  in  listening  to  the  views  of  all,  and  then  in 
making  a  judicious  combination  to  meet  your  own  char- 
acter and  your  own  circumstances.  It  is  often  better  to 
adjust  and  adapt  the  plan  of  another  than  to  adopt  it. 
Servile  imitation  precludes  thought  in  the  teacher,  and 


TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  HIS  l'KOFK>M<  >N. 

reduces  him  to  a  mere  machine.  The  most  successful 
teachers  I  have  ever  known  were  those  who  would  listen 
attentively  to  the  plans  and  experience  of  others,  and 
then  strike  out  a  course  for  themselves — attempting  that, 
and  that  only,  which  they  were  confident  they  could  suc- 
cessfully execute. 

3.  Avoid  Undue  Self- sufficiency. — Men  usually  cease 
to  learn  when  they  think  they  are  wise  enough.  The 
teacher  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  this  error.  Moving 
for  the  most  part  among  children,  where  his  decisions 
are  seldom  questioned,  he  is  very  apt  to  attach  undue 
importance  to  his  own  opinions.  Such  a  man  meets  his 
fellows  with  much  self-complacency,  and  is  but  poorly 
prepared  to  be  profited  by  the  views  of  others.  But  the 
teacher  should  never  cease  to  be  teachable.  There  are 
very  few  men  too  old  or  too  wise  to  learn  something  ; 
and  they  are  the  wisest,  if  not  the  oldest,  who  are  willing 
to  welcome  real  improvement,  even  though  it  should 
come  fr^m  comparative  "  babes  and  sucklings,"  out  of 
whose  months  God  has  sometimes  perfected  praise." 


2lK»  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS. 

Miscellaneous  Hints. — On  looking  over  the  notes 
which  I  have  at  various  times  made  of  my  own  experi- 
ence and  observation,  during  twenty  years  of  practical 
teaching,  I  find  there  are  several  thoughts  which  may  be 
of  some  service  to  the  young  teacher,  and  which  have  not 
been  introduced  under  any  of  the  general  topics  of  this 
volume.  I  have,  therefore,  thought  best  to  introduce  a 
special  chapter,  with  the  above  title,  where  I  might  law- 
fully bring  together,  without  much  regard  to  method, 
such  varied  hints  as  may  convey  to  some  reader  a  useful 
lesson.  Some  of  these  hints  will  refer  to  faults  which 
should  be  carefully  avoided,  while  others  will  point  out 
some  duties  to  be  performed. 

SECTION   I.      THINGS   TO   BE  AVOIDED. 

I.  Prejudice. — Guard  against  prejudice  on  entering  a 
school.  It  is  not  always  safe  to  rely  upon  first  impres- 
sions as  to  character.  At  the  opening  of  a  school,  per- 
haps fifty  individuals  for  the  first  time  are  brought 
before  the  teacher.  Some  of  them  are  from  humble 
life,  and,  perhaps,  bear  upon  them  the  marks  of  parental 
neglect.  Their  persons  and  their  clothing  may  present 
nothing  to  attract  and  gratify  the  eye  of  a  stranger. 
Little  accustomed  to  society,  they  exhibit  an  awkward 
bashfulness  or  an  impertinent  forwardness  in  their 
manner.  Contrasted  with  these,  others  appear  who  have 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  361 

been  the  children  of  indulgence,  and  who  have  seen  much 
more  of  the  world.  A  more  expensive  garb  attracts  the 
eye ;  a  more  easy  and  familiar  address,  conforming  to  the 
artificial  modes  of  society,  is  very  likely  to  win  the  heart. 
The  teacher  is  very  prone  to  find  his  feelings  committed 
in  favor  of  the  latter  class  and  against  the  former.  But 
this  is  all  wrong.  A  judgment  thus  hastily  formed  is 
extremely  hazardous,  as  a  few  days'  acquaintance  will 
usually  show.  The  child  of  blunt  or  shy  demeanor  often 
has  the  truest  heart, — a  heart  whose  sentiments  go  out  by 
the  shortest  course, — a  heart  that  has  never  learned  the 
artificial  forms  of  the  world,  because  it  has  never  felt  the 
need  of  them.  And  how  unjust  to  the  child  is  a  pre- 
judice founded  on  the  circumstance  of  dress!  Must  the 
inability  or  neglect  of  his  parent  be  doubly  visited  on 
him  ?  Is  it  not  enough  that  he  daily  feels  the  inward 
mortification  of  a  contrast  with  his  more  favored  school- 
fellows? Must  he  be  painfully  reminded  of  it  by  dis- 
covering that  his  teacher  repels  him  on  that  account,  and 
bestows  his  kindliest  smiles  upon  those  who  are  "the 
brightest  and  best  clad  ?  " 

Unjust  Prejudice. — And  yet  such  unjust  prejudice  is 
common.  Wrong  and  unfeeling  as  it  is,  it  is  too  com- 
mon. A  fine  dress,  and  a  clean  face,  and  a  graceful 
manner,  I  know  are  attractive ;  but  the  teacher  has  to  do 
with  the  mind  and  the  heart ;  and  he  should  never  be 
deterred  by  anything  exterior  from  making  a  diligent 
and  patient  search  for  good  qualities  which  have  their 
home  behind  the  surface ;  and  he  should  ever  possess  a 
smile  as  cordial  and  a  tone  as  parental  for  the  neglected 
child  of  poverty  and  ignorance  as  for  the  more  favored 
son  of  wealth  and  ease. 


262  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Pupils  not  to  Direct  their  Studies. — Do  not  allow 
your  pupils  to  direct  their  own  studies.  Whatever  their  age 
may  be,  they  are  seldom  capable  of  doing  this.  It  is  the 
aim  of  the  young  to  get  over  a  long  course  of  study.  They 
are  usually  pleased  to  belong  to  higher  classes  before  they 
have  mastered  the  branches  taught  in  the  lower.  If 
children  are  suffered  to  direct  their  own  studies,  they 
usually  make  themselves  very  poor  scholars.  This  is 
the  bane  of  many  of  our  select  schools  and  academies, 
where  the  teacher  yields  this  right  in  order  to  secure 
pupils  and  a  salary.  But  no  one,  not  even  the  parent, 
is  as  competent  as  the  teacher  ought  to  be  to  direct  in 
this  matter.  He  has  the  best  opportunity  daily  to 
fathom  the  pupil's  attainments  and  to  understand  his 
deficiencies.  He  may  claim  the  right  to  direct.  In 
case  the  pupil  withstands  his  decision,  the  teacher 
should  appeal  to  the  parent,  and  endeavor  there  to 
sustain  his  point — a  thing  generally  within  his  power,  if 
indeed  he  is  right.  If  the  parent  too  is  obstinate,  and 
firmly  insists  upon  the  wrong  course,  the  teacher  may 
perhapr  submit,  though  he  cannot  submit  without  the 
consciousness  that  his  province  has  beer  invaded. 

A  Mistake. — It  is  too  frequently  the  case  that  the 
teachei  at  the  first  yields  all  this  ground  voluntarily,  by 
asking  the  children  what  they  wish  to  study.  When  he 
has  once  made  then?  a  party  in  this  question,  he  need 
not  wonder  if  they  claim  to  be  heard.  This  he  should 
net  do.  He  should  first  be  sure  that  he  is  qualified  to 
direct  aright,  and  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  proceed 
to  do  it,  just  as  the  physician  would  prescribe  for  the 
physical  malady  of  such  a  child.  The  latter  is  not  more 
the  rightful  duty  of  the  physician  than  the  former  is  of 
the  school-teacher.  Neither  has  the  powei  to  enforce 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  263 

his  prescription  against  the  parents'  consent ;  but  that 
consent  may  be  taken  for  granted  by  both  till  informed 
that  it  is  withheld. 

An  Egregious  Evil  in  All  Schools.— I  may  here  re 
mark  that  all  my  intercourse  with  the  young,  whether  in 
the  common  or  the  higher  school,  I  have  found  no 
greater  evil  than  that  of  proceeding  to  the  more  difficult 
branches  before  the  elementary  studies  have  been  mas- 
tered. It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  those  who  have 
"  attended  "  to  the  higher  mathematics — algebra,  geome- 
try, and  the  like — whose  reading  and  writing  are  wretched 
in  the  extreme,  and  whose  spelling  is  absolutely  intoler 
able  !  They  have  been  pursuing  quadratics,  but  are 
unable  to  explain  why  they  "  carry  one  for  every  ten  ;' 
they  have  wandered  among  the  stars  in  search  of  other 
worlds,  by  the  science  of  astronomy,  without  knowing 
the  most  simple  points  in  the  geography  of  our  own ; 
they  have  studied  logarithms  and  infinite  series,  but  can- 
not be  safely  trusted  to  add  a  column  of  figures,  or  to 
compute  the  simple  interest  upon  a  common  note  !  In 
short,  they  have  studied  everything,  except  what  is  most 
useful  to  be  known  in  practical  life,  and  have  really 
learned — nothing  ! 

The  Remedy. — Now  if  this  evil — grievous  and  exten- 
sive as  it  i?  at  present — is  destined  ever  to  be  abated,  it 
is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  instrumentality  of  the 
teachei,  acting,  in  his  appropriate  sphere,  in  the  capacity 
of  a  director  as  to  the  course  of  study  for  the  young. 
He  must  not  be  a  man  who  can  merely  teach,  but  one 
who  understands  the  high  import  of  a  true  education, 
and  knows  how  to  prescribe  the  order  of  its  progress ; 
one,  in  short,  who  wili  never  attempt  to  erect  a  showy 
superstructure  upon  an  insufficient  foundation. 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

3.  The  Remedy. — Do  not  attempt  to  teach  too  many 
things.     There  is  a  tendency  at  present  to  introduce  too 
many  things  into  all  our  schools.     Nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  to  hear  our  public  lecturers  declare,  as  they  be- 
come a  little  enthusiastic  in  any  given  deparfment,  that 
"  this  branch  should  at  once  be  made  a  study  in  our  com- 
mon schools."     This  is  heard  of  almost  the  whole  round 
of   the   natural   sciences.     But  it  seems  to  me  to  be  dic- 
tated by  overwrought  enthusiasm.     Everything  cannot  be 
ivell  taught  in  our  schools ;   nor  should  too  much  be  at- 
tempted.    It  is  the  province  of  our  schools — particularly 
our  common  schools — to  afford  thorough  instruction  in  a 
few  things,  and  to  awaken  a  desire  for  more  extended  at- 
tainment.    The  instruction  given  should,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, be  complete  in  itself,  while  it  should  afford  the  means 
of    making   further   advancement ;   but  that  instruction 
which,  being  merely  superficial,  neither  itself  informs  the 
mind  nor  imparts  the  desire  and  the  means  of  future  self- 
improvement,  is  worse  than  useless  ;    it  is  positively  in- 
jurious.    A  few  branches  thoroughly  possessed  are  worth 
more  than  a  thousand  merely  glanced  at ;  and  the  idea  of 
changing  our  common  schools  to  universities  where  our 
children,  before  they  pass  from  the  years  of  their  baby- 
hood, are  to  grasp  the  whole  range  of  the  sciences,  is  one 
of  the  most  preposterous  that  has  grown  up  even   in  this 
age  of  follies.     The  teacher,  then,  should  not  undertake 
too  much  ;  he  should  be  sure  that  he  can  accomplish  what 
he  undertakes.      The  mark  he  makes  upon  the  young  should 
be  no  uncertain  sign. 

4.  "Mind  Your  Business." — Never  attend  to  extrane- 
ous business  in   school-hours.     This   is    a   common    fault. 
Many  teachers  neglect  their  duties  in  school  to  write 
letters,  or  transact  such  other  bu-siness  as  should  be  done 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  265 

at  home.  This  is  always  wrong.  There  is  no  time  for  it 
in  any  school ;  for  a  diligent  teacher  can  always  find  full 
employment  even  with  a  small  number.  Besides,  he  has 
engaged to  devote  himself  to  the  school ;  and  any  depart- 
ure from  this  is  a  violation  of  his  contract.  The  children 
will  so  view  it,  and  thus  lose  much  of  their  respect  for 
the  teacher.  Moreover,  if  they  see  him  neglect  his  busi- 
ness for  some  other,  they  will  be  very  likely  to  neglect 
theirs,  and  thus  disorder  will  be  introduced.  I  hold  that 
the  teacher  is  bound  to  devote  every  moment  of  school- 
hours  to  active  labor  for  the  school. 

5.  Excuses. — Avoid  making  excuses  to  visitors  for  the 
defects  of  your  school.  Franklin,  I  think,  said  that  "a 
man  who  is  good  for  making  excuses  is  good  for  nothing 
else."  I  have  often  thought  of  this  as  I  have  visited  the 
schools  of  persons  given  to  this  failing.  It  is  sometimes 
quite  amusing  to  hear  such  a  teacher  keep  up  a  sort  of 
running  apology  for  the  various  pupils.  A  class  is  called 
to  read.  The  teacher  remarks,  "  This  class  has  but  just 
commenced  reading  in  this  book."  Stephen  finishes  the 
first  paragraph,  and  the  teacher  adds,  "  Stephen  has  not 
attended  school  very  regularly  lately.''  William  reads  the 
second.  "  This  boy,"  says  the  teacher,  "  was  very  back- 
ward when  I  came  here — he  has  but  just  joined  this  class." 
Charles  executes  the  third.  "  That  boy  has  an  impediment 
in  his  speech."  Reuben  follows.  "  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  made  a  good  reader  of  Reuben  ;  he  never  seems  to  pay 
the  least  attention.  I  have  bestowed  unwearied  pains  upon  * 
him."  Mary  takes  her  turn.  "  This  girl  has  lost  her  book, 
and  her  father  refuses  to  buy  her  another."  Mary  here 
blushes  to  the  eyes, — for  though  she  could  bear  his  re- 
proof, she  still  has  some  sense  of  family  pride  ;  she  bursts 
into  tears,  while  Martha  reads  the  next  paragraph.  "  I 


266  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

have  tried  all  along,"  says  the  teacher,  "  to  make  this  girl 
raise  her  voice,  but  still  she  will  almost  stifle  her  words." 
Martha  looks  dejected,  and  the  next  in  order  makes  an 
attempt. 

Pity  Excited. — Now  the  teacher  in  all  this  has  no 
malicious  design  to  wound  the  feelings  of  every  child  in 
the  class, — and  yet  he  as  effectually  accomplishes  that  re- 
sult as  if  he  had  premeditated  it.  Every  scholar  is  inter- 
ested to  read  as  well  as  possible  in  the  presence  of 
strangers  ;  every  one  makes  the  effort  to  do  so ;  yet  every 
one  is  practically  pronounced  to  have  failed.  The  visit- 
ors pity  the  poor  pupils  for  the  pain  they  are  made  thus 
needlessly  to  suffer,  and  theyfitjr  also  the  -weakness  of  the 
poor  teacher,  whose  love  of  approbation  has  so  blinded  his 
own  perception  that  he  is  regardless  of  the  feelings  of 
others,  and  thinks  of  nothing  but  his  own. 

"When  I  Came  Here."— This  over-anxiety  for  the 
good  opinion  of  others  shows  itself  in  a  still  less  amiable 
light,  when  the  teacher  frequently  makes  unfavorable 
allusions  to  his  predecessor.  ''  When  /  came  here"  says 
the  teacher  significantly,  "  I  found  them  all  poor  read- 
ers," Or,  if  a  little  disorder  occurs  in  school,  he  takes 
care  to  add,  "  I  found  the  school  in  perfect  confusion," 
— or,  "  the  former  teacher,  as  near  as  I  can  learn,  used 
to  allow  the  children  to  talk  and  play  as  much  as  they 
pleased."  Now,  whatever  view  we  take  of  such  a  course, 
it  is  impossible  to  pronounce  it  anything  better  than 
despicable  meanness.  For  if  the  charge  is  true,  it  is  by 
no  means  magnanimous  to  publish  the  faults  of  another  ; 
and  if  it  is  untrue  in  whole  or  in  part,  as  most  likely  it 
is,  none  but  a  contemptible  person  would  magnify  an- 
other's failings  to  mitigate  his  own. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  267 

"  How  Old  are  You  ?" — There  is  still  another  way  in 
which  this  love  of  personal  applause  exhibits  itself.  I 
have  seen  teachers  call  upon  their  brightest  scholars  co 
recite,  and  then  ask  them  to  tell  their  age,  in  order  to 
remind  the  visitor  that  they  were  very  young  to  do  so 
well ;  and  then  insinuate  that  their  older  pupils  could  of 
course  do  much  better. 

Such  Arts  Recoil. — All  these  arts,  however,  recoil 
upon  the  teacher  who  uses  them.  A  visitor  of  any  dis- 
cernment sees  through  them  at  once,  and  immediately 
suspects  the  teacher  of  conscious  incompetency  or  willful 
deception.  The  pupils  lose  their  respect  for  a  man  whom 
they  all  perceive  to  be  acting  a  dishonorable  part.  I 
repeat,  then,  never  attempt  to  cover  the  defects  of  your 
schools  by  making  ridiciilous  excuses. 

6.  Comparisons  are  Odious. — Never  compare  one  child 
with  another      It  is  a   poor  way  of   stimulating   a  dull 
pupil  to  compare  him  with  a  better  scholar.     It  is  the 
direct  way  to  engender  hatred  in  the  mind  of  the  one, 
and  the  most  consummate  self-complacency  in  the  other. 
Not  one  child  in  a  thousand  can  be  publicly  held  up  to 
the  school  as  a  pattern  of  excellence,  without  becoming 
excessively  vain  ;  at  the  same  time,  all  the  other  scholars 
will  be  more  or  less  excited  to  envy.     Such  a  course  is 
always  unsafe  ;  almost  always  injurious. 

7.  Tenderness  to  a  Dull  Child. — Avoid  wounding  the 
sensibilities  of  a  dull  child.     There  will  always  be  those  in 
every  school  who  are  slow  to  comprehend.     After  their 
classmates   have   grasped   an   idea  during  the  teacher's 
explanation,  they  still  have  the  vacant   stare,  the  unin- 
telligent expression.     This  may  be  so  after  a  second  or 
a    third    explanation.     The    teacher     is    now    strongly 
tempted  to  indulge  in  expressions  of  impatience,  if  not 


268  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

of  opprobrium.  This  temptation  he  should  resist.  Such 
children  are  to  be  pitied  for  their  dullness,  but  never  to 
be  censured  for  it.  It  is  an  unfeeling  thing  to  sting  the 
soul  that  is  already  benighted.  He  should  cheer  and 
encourage  such  a  slow  mind  to  greater  effort,  by  the  sun- 
shine of  kind  looks,  and  the  warm  breath  of  sympathy, 
rather  than  freeze  up  the  feeble  current  of  vivacity  which 
yet  remains  there  by  a  forbidding  frown  or  a  blast  of 
reproach.  A  dull  child  is  almost  always  affectionate  ; 
and  it  is  through  the  medium  of  kindness  and  patience 
that  such  a  one  is  most  effectually  stimulated. 

8.  Never  Get  Out  of  Temper  With  Parents. — Never 
lose  your  patience  when  parents  unreasonably  interfere  with 
your  plans.  It  must  be  expected  that  some  of  the  par- 
ents will  wish  to  dictate  to  the  teacher  what  course  he 
shall  pursue,  at  least  in  relation  to  their  own  children. 
This  will  sometimes  bring  them  to  the  schoolroom,  per- 
haps in  a  tone  of  complaint,  to  set  the  teacher  right. 
Whenever  a  parent  thus  steps  beyond  the  bounds  of 
propriety,  the  teacher  should  never  lose  his  self-posses- 
sion. He  should  always  speak  the  language  of  courtesy, 
in  frankness,  but  in  firmness.  He  should  reason  with 
the  parent,  and  if  possible  convince  him, — but  he  should 
never  insult  or  abuse  him.  It  may  be  well  to  propose  to 
see  him  at  his  own  house,  in  order  to  talk  over  the 
matter  rftore  at  his  leisure.  I  recollect  once  a  parent 
sent  a  hasty  refusal  to  purchase  a  necessary  book  for  his 
son, — a  refusal  clothed  in  no  very  respectful  language. 
I  gave  the  lad  a  courteous  note  directed  to  his  father,  in 
which  I  intimated  my  desire  to  have  an  interview  with 
him  at  his  house  at  such  time  as  he  might  appoint.  In 
half  an  hour  the  boy  came  bounding  back  with  the  de- 
sired book,  informing  me  that  his  father  said,  "  he 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS. 

guessed  he  might  as  well  get  the  book,  and  done  with 
it."  My  intercourse  with  that  parent  was  ever  after- 
wards of  the  most  pleasant  kind.  A  supercilious  parent 
can  never  gain  an  advantage  over  a  teacher,  unless  he 
can  first  provoke  him  to  impatience  or  anger.  As  long 
as  the  teacher  is  perfectly  self-possessed  he  is  impreg- 
nable. 

9.  The  Study  of  the  Bible. — Never  make  the  study  of 
tlic   Bible   a  punishment.     I    have   known    a   teacher    to 
assign  sundry  passages  of   the  Bible,  condemnatory  of  a 
particular  sin,  to  be  committed  to   memory  as  a  punish- 
ment.    I  have  also  known  the  idle  scholar  to  be  detained 
after  school  to  study  passages  of   Scripture,  because  he 
had    failed  to    learn   his  other  lessons    in    due   time.     I 
believe  this  to  be  bad  policy,  as  well  as  doubtful  religion. 
The  lesson  that  a  child  thus  learns  are  always  connected 
in  his  mind  with  unpleasant  associations.     His   heart    is 
not   made   better   by   truths   thus   learned.     The    Bible 
indeed  should  be  studied  by  the  young,  but  they  should 
be  attracted  to  it  by  the  spirit  of  love  rather  than  driven 
to  it  by  the  spirit  of   vindictiveness.     They  who  suppose 
that    children    can  be  made  to  love  the  Bible  by  be'ng 
thus  driven  to  the  study  of   it,  have  sadly  mistaken  the 
human  heart. 

10.  Hobbies. — Ride  no  "hobbies"    in    teaching.       Al- 
most   every    man,    in    whatever     vocation,     has    some 
hobby,  some  "  one  idea"  which  he  pushes  forward  on  all 
occasions,  no  matter  what  may  be  the    consequences.     It 
is   not   strange   that   it    is   often  thus  with  the  teacher. 
If   the   teacher   has   any     independence    of    mind,    any 
originality,  he  will  at  some  period  in  his  life  naturally 
incline  to  try  some  experiments  in  teaching      Partly  on 
account  of  the  novelty  of  the  plan,  and  partly  on  account 


$70  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

of  the  teacher's  interest  in  the  success  of  his  own  meas- 
ure, he  finds  it  works  well  in  the  class  where  it  was  first 
tried ;  and  he  rejoices  that  he  has  made  a  discovery. 
Teaching  now  possesses  a  new  interest  for  him,  and  he 
very  likely  becomes  enthusiastic.  He  applies  his  new 
measure  to  other  classes,  and  loudly  recommends  it  to 
other  teachers.  For  a  time  it  succeeds,  and  it  becomes 
his  hobby.  Whenever  a  stranger  visits  his  school,  he 
shows  off  his  new  measure.  Whenever  he  attends  a 
teachers'  meeting,  he  describes  it,  and  perhaps  presents  a 
class  of  his  pupils  to  verify  its  excellency.  He  abandons 
his  old  and  long-tried  plans,  and  persists  in  the  new  one. 
By  and  by  the  novelty  has  worn  away  and  his  pupils  be- 
come dull  under  its  operation,  and  reason  suggests  that  a 
return  to  the  former  methods  would  be  advisable.  Still, 
because  it  is  his  invention,  he  persists.  Others  try  the  ex- 
periment. Some  succeed  ;  some  fail.  Some  of  them  by 
a  public  speech  commit  themselves  to  it,  and  then  persist 
in  it  to  preserve  their  consistency.  In  this  way  a  great 
many  objectionable  modes  of  teaching  have  gained  cur- 
rency, and  still  hold  their  sway  in  many  of  our  schools. 

Oral  Instruction. — Among  these  I  might  mention  con- 
cert recitation  and  oral  instruction  when  made  a  substitute 
for  study.  Of  the  origin  and  tendency  of  the  former  I 
have  spoken  more  at  length  in  the  chapter  on  "  Conduct- 
ing Recitations."  Of  the  latter,  a  word  or  two  may  be 
said  in  this  place. 

Baby-talk  ! — It  was  found  years  ago,  in  the  earlier  at- 
tempts to  teach  the  blind,  that  they  made  very  rapid 
strides  in  acquiring  knowledge  through  the  sole  medium  of 
oral  instruction.  As  might  have  been  foreseen,  they  be- 
came intensely  interested  in  hearing  about  things  which 
had  surrounded  them  all  their  days,  but  which  they  had 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  271 

never  seen.  Shut  in  as  they  were  from  the  privilege  of 
sight,  there  was  nothing  to  distract  their  attention  from 
whatever  was  communicated  to  them  through  the  sense 
of  hearing  ;  and,  as  they  had  been  blind  from  their  birth, 
this  discipline  of  attention  had  been  going  on  from  in- 
fancy. Under  these  circumstances  their  progress  in  knowl- 
edge by  mere  oral  teaching  was  astonishing.  This  was 
all  well.  But  soon  some  one  conceived  the  idea  of  sub- 
stituting oral  instruction  for  study  among  seeing  children. 
Immediately  there  was  an  oral  mania.  Infant  schools 
grew  up  in  every  village ;  infant-school  manuals  were 
prepared,  filled  with  scientific  baby-talk,  for  the  use  of  the 
worthy  dames  who  were  to  drive  the  hobby,  and  the  nine- 
teenth century  bade  fair  to  do  more  towards  lighting  up 
the  fires  of  science  than  all  time  before  had  accomplished. 
It  was  truly  wonderful  for  a  time  to  listen  to  the  learned 
volubility  of  these  same  infant  schools.  The  wonders  of 
astronomy,  chemistry,  botany  and  zoology,  with  the  terms 
of  Cuvier's  classification.and  a  thousand  other  things,  were 
all  detailed  with  astonishing  familiarity  by  pupils  under 
five  years  of  age !  Some  eminent  teachers  sagely  took 
the  hint,  and  adopted  the  oral  system  with  their  older 
classes.  The  sciences  were  taught  by  lectures.  The 
pupils  of  this  happy  day  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  and 
receive.  To  be  sure,  sometimes  they  would  become  inat- 
tentive, and  it  would  be  discovered  by  their  teachers  that 
they  did  not  retain  quite  all  that  was  told  to  them.  This, 
however,  was  no  fault  of  the  system,  it  was  urged  ;  the 
system  was  well  enough,  but,  unfortunately,  the  pupils 
had  eyes,  and  their  attention  was  frequently  diverted  by 
the  unlucky  use  of  these  worthless  organs. 

A  Royal  Road  ! — A  royal  road,  sure  enough,  was  fouud 
to  the  temple  of   science,  too  long  beyond  mortal  reach 


27-,»  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

by  reason  of  the  rugged  footpath  over  which  the  student 
was  compelled  to  climb.  Happy,  glorious  day !  No 
more  must  toil  and  thought  be  the  price  of  success  ! 
No  more  must  midnight  oil  be  consumed,  and  the  brain 
be  puzzled,  in  search  of  the  wisdom  of  ages  !  No  more 
must  the  eyes  be  pained — (they  are  hereafter  to  be  con- 
sidered  incumbrances) — in  searching  the  classic  page  ; 
the  ear  is  to  be  the  easy  inlet  to  the  soul ! 


Eyes  are  Useless  Orbs! — Such  was  the  hobby  of  1829 
to.  1831  in  our  own  country.  Those  babes  of  the  infant 
school  grew  into  "young  men  and  maidens,"  in  no  way 
distinguished  after  all,  unless  they  afterwards  achieved 
distinction  by  actual  study.  The  pupils  of  those  higher 
schools  obtained  whatever  they  later  valued  in  their 
education,  mainly  by  the  use  of  their  eyes,  notwithstand- 
ing at  one  time  their  worthy  guides  would  have  almost 
deemed  it  a  blessing  to  have  had  their  eyes  put  out !  It 
has  been  found  that  God  was  indeed  wise  in  the  bestow- 
ment  of  sight ;  and  some  at  least  have  acknowledged 
that  a  method  that  is  well  suited  to  the  instruction  of 
those  who  are  blind,  because  it  is  the  only  possible  one 
for  them,  may  not  be  the  best  for  those  who  can  see. 
At  the  present  time  the  sentiment  begins  to  prevail  that 
oral  instruction  can  never  supply  the  place  of  study  ; 
that  the  lecturing  or  "  pouring-in  process"  cannot  long 
secure  the  attention  ;  that  the  mind  by  merely  receiving 
gains  no  vigor  of  its  own  ;  and  that  scholars  must  be 
made,  if  made  at  all,  mainly  by  their  own  exertions  in  the 
use  of  books. 

Patent  Methods. — It  would  be  easy  to  mention  other 
examples  of  hobbies  which  have  been  ridden  by  teachers 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS, 

very  much  to  the  injury  of  their  schools.  Those  already 
given  may,  however,  suffice  for  the  purpose  of  illustra- 
tion. Let  it  be  remembered,  then,  that  no  one  method 
of  instruction  comprises  all  the  excellences  and  avoids 
all  the  defects  of  good  teaching  ;  and  that  he  is  the  wisest 
teacher  who  introduces  a  judicious  variety  into  his  modes 
of  instruction,  profiting  by  the  suggestions  of  others,  but 
relying  mainly  upon  his  own  careful  observation,  eschew- 
ing all  "  patent  methods,"  and  never  losing  his  COMMON 
SENSE. 

Favorite  Branch  of  Study. — Under  the  head  of  hob- 
bies, I  may  add  one  other  remark.  Many  teachers  have 
some  favorite  branch  of  study,  in  which,  because  they 
excel,  they  take  special  delight.  One  man  is  a  good 
mathematician,  another  an  expert  accountant,  a  third  a 
skillful  grammarian.  Now  the  danger  is  that  the  favorite 
branch  of  study  may  become  the  Jiobby,  and  that  the 
other  branches  will  be  neglected.  This  is  indeed  not 
unfrequently  the  case. 

Higher  Branches. — Again,  some  teachers  are  more 
interested  in  the  higher  branches  generally,  because  they 
were  the  last  pursued  m  their  college  course,  or  for  some 
other  reason.  They  therefore  neglect  the  lower  studies, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  the  youth  under  their  charge. 
Against  all  such  partial  views  the  teacher  should  take 
great  pains  to  guard  himself.  He  may  fall  uncon- 
sciously and  almost  imperceptibly  into  some  of  these 
errors.  Let  me  add  the  caution,  then, — never  allow 
your  partiality  for  one  study,  or  a  class  of  studies,  to 
divert  your  attention  from  all  those  other  branches  which 
are  necessary  to  constitute  a  good  education. 


274  THEORY   AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

SECTION    II.      THINGS   TO    BE   PERFORMED. 

I.  The  Scholars'  Friend.— Convince  your  scholars  by 
your  conduct  tJiat  you  are  their  friend.  It  is  all-important 
that  you  should  gain  complete  ascendancy  over  the  minds 
of  your  pupils.  In  no  way  is  this  point  so  successfully 
gained  as  by  leading  them  to  feel  that  you  are  their  true 
friend.  When  they  feel  this,  all  their  sentiments  cf  gen- 
erosity, gratitude,  and  love,  conspire  to  lead  them  to  ren- 
der cheerful  obedience  to  your  wishes.  Government  then 
becomes  easy  ;  instruction  is  no  longer  irksome;  and  you 
cm  most  cordially  respond  to  the  poet,  in  that  beautiful 
sentiment  too  seldom  fully  realized  : — 

"  Delightful  task  !  to  rear  the  tender  thought, 
And  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot, 
To  pour  the  fresh  instruction  o'er  the  mind, 
To  breathe  the  enlivening  spirit,  and  to  fix 
The  generous  purpose  in  the  glowing  breast." 

Love  for  Scholars  and  for  Teaching  to  be  Felt.— 
But  effectually  to  convince  them  that  you  are  thus 
their  friend  is  not  the  work  of  a  moment.  Words  alone 
can  never  do  it.  You  may  make  professions  of  interest 
in  them,  but  it  is  all  to  no  purpose.  Your  actions, 
your  looks,  your  whole  spirit  must  show  it.  In  order 
thus  to  exhibit  it,  you  must  feel  a.  deep,  an  all-pervading 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  every  child.  You  must  love 
your  profession,  and  you  must  love — sincerely  love — 
those  whom  you  are  called  to  teach.  If  you  do  not  love 
the  work  of  teaching,  and  cannot  bring  yourself  to  love 
the  children  of  your  charge,  you  may  not  expect  success. 
It  was  long  ago  declared  that 

"  Love  only  is  the  loan  for  love," — 

and  this  is  specially  true  with  the  love  of  children.    Their 
souls  spontaneously  go  out  after  those   who  love  them. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS. 

Strive,  then,  to  gain  this  point  with  them,  not  by  empty 
pretensions,  always  quickly  read  and  as  quickly  despised 
by  the  young  ;  but  by  that  full,  frank,  cordial  expression 
of  kindness  in  your  manner  towards  them,  which,  being 
based  upon  deep  principle  in  yourself,  is  sure  at  once  to 
win  their  affection,  and  their  ready  compliance  with  all 
your  reasonable  requisitions. 

II.  Care  of  Schoolhouse. —  Take  special  care  that  the 
schoolhouse  and  its  appendages  are  kept  in  good  order. 
This  is  a  part  of  every  teacher's  duty.  He  should  have 
an  eye  that  is  constantly  on  the  alert  to  perceive  the 
smallest  beginnings  of  injury  to  any  part  of  the  premises. 
It  is  often  painful  to  see  a  new  schoolhouse,  that  has 
with  much  care  and  expense  been  put  in  perfect  order, 
very  soon  cut  and  otherwise  disfigured  by  the  pupils — 
the  glass  broken,  the  ceiling  soiled,  the  desks  and  floors 
stained  with  ink,  and  everything  bearing  the  marks  of 
youthful  destructiveness.  The  teacher  should  be  held 
accountable  for  such  results,  for  he  can  by  proper  vigil- 
ance prevent  them. 

Resist  the  Beginnings. — Some  of  his  first  lessons  to 
his  pupils  should  be  upon  the  subject  of  practical  neat- 
ness in  regard  to  everything  that  pertains  to  the  school. 
They  should  be  impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  holds 
neatness  as  a  cardinal  virtue.  Daily  should  he  watch 
to  discover  the  first  violation  of  propriety  upon  the 
premises.  This  first  violation  should  be  promptly  met. 
There  is  great  wisdom  in  the  adage  which  enjoins  us  to 
"  resist  the  beginnings" 

Care  of  Books,  Desks,  etc. — So,  too,  he  should  exer- 
cise an  oversight  of  the  books  belonging  to  the  pupils. 
Many  books  are  speedily  destroyed  by  children  for  the 
want  of  a  little  care  of  the  teacher — probably  more  than 


276  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

are  worn  out  by  use.  He  should  also  occasionally  inspect 
the  desks,  with  a  view  to  promote  a  commendable  neat- 
ness there.  The  teacher  has  an  undoubted  right  to  inspect 
any  part  of  the  premises  ;  but,  by  a  little  adroitness,  he 
can  interest  the  children  in  a  reform  of  this  kind,  and 
then  they  will  desire  that  he  should  witness  their  care- 
fulness. 

Rights  of  Property. — I  may  add  further  that  the  chil- 
dren should  not  only  be  taught  to  respect  the  school- 
house  and  its  appendages,  but  they  should  be  taught  to 
regard  the  sacredness  of  all  property,  either  public  or 
private.  The  neighboring  garden  or  orchard  should  be 
held  to  be  inviolable.  The  teacher  may  not  have  the 
authority  to  compel  compliance  with  his  direction  or  ad- 
vice beyond  school  hours,  but  he  should  endeavor  to  exer- 
cise a  moral  influence  in  the  school  which  will  be  more 
powerful  even  than  compulsion.  So,  in  regard  to  public 
buildings,  such  as  churches  and  courthouses ;  and  all 
public  grounds,  as  parks,  commons,  and  cemeteries — the 
teacher  should  inculcate  not  only  the  duty  to  abstain 
from  injuring  them,  but  a  commendable  desire  to  see 
them  improved  and  beautified. 

American  Destructiveness — Whittling. — In  Amer- 
ica, it  is  remarked  by  foreigners,  there  is  a  strange  ten- 
dency to  destructiveness.  In  our  public  buildings,  the  walls 
are  usually  disfigured  by  names  and  drawings,  and  even 
our  cemeteries  do  not  escape  the  violence  of  the  knives 
of  visitors,  the  trees  being  cut  and  marked  with  names, 
and  the  flowers  plucked  off  and  carried  away.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  our  teachers  will  so  exercise  a  reforming  in- 
fluence that  the  next  generation  shall  exercise  a  higher 
principle  as  well  as  a  better  taste  in  all  these  matters, 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  277 

which,  small  as  they  are,  make  up  no  mean  part  of  the 
manners  and  morals  of  a  people. 

III.  General  Reformation. —  When  scholars  do  wrong, 
it  is  sometimes  best  to  witJiliold  immediate  reproof,  but  to 
describe  a  similar  case  in  general  instruction.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  effectual  modes  of  curing  the  evil  in  the 
wrong-doer  himself.  It,  moreover,  gives  the  teacher  a 
valuable  text  for  a  lesson  on  morals  before  the  whole 
school.  Care  should  generally  be  taken  not  to  lead  the 
school  to  suspect  the  individual  in  your  mind,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  parable  should  so  fit  the  case  as  to  pre- 
clude the  necessity  of  saying  to  the  offender,  as  Nathan 
did  to  David  :  "Thou  art  the  man." 

A  Confession. — A  case  will  illustrate  this.  I  recollect 
once  to  have  found,  among  a  large  number  of  composi- 
tions presented  by  a  class,  one  that  I  knew  to  have  been 
copied.  No  notice  was  taken  of  it  at  the  time ;  but 
some  days  afterwards  a  case  was  described  to  the  class, 
resembling  the  one  that  had  actually  occurred.  After 
exciting  considerable  interest  in  the  case,  they  were  told 
that  such  a  thing  had  happened  among  their  own  num- 
ber; that  I  did  not  choose  to  expose  the  individual ; 
but,  if  any  of  them  thought  it  would  be  honorable  for 
them  to  confess  such  an  offence  to  me  in  case  they  had 
committed  it,  they  might  seek  a  private  opportunity  to 
do  so.  In  less  than  twenty-four  hours  no  less  than  four 
made  such,  a  confession,  detailing  freely  the  extent  and 
the  circumstances  of  their  offending.  In  this  way  four 
were  reformed,  where  by  direct  reproof  only  one  could 
have  been  reached.  It  was  a  frank,  not  a  forced  confes- 
sion ;  and  I  was  thus  easily  made  to  know  the  extent  of 
this  sin  in  the  school.  By  this  simple  expedient,  I  have 
reason  to  believe,  plagiarism  was  effectually  eradicated 


278  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

for  that  term  at  least,  in  the  whole  class,  and  that,  too, 
without  the  loss  of  any  pupil's  good-will. 

It  is  generally  wiser  to  endeavor  to  reach  the  evil  in 
its  whole  extent  than  to  expend  one's  strength  upon  a 
single  instance  of  wrong-doing.  The  conscience  of  the 
whole  school  may  sometimes  be  profitably  aroused,  while 
the  particular  individual  is  quite  as  effectively  corrected 
as  he  would  be  by  a  direct  reproof. 

IV.  Accuracy. — Be  accurate.  This  is  necessary  in 
order  to  secure  the  respect  of  your  pupils.  What  the 
teacher  professes  to  know  he  should  be  sure  of.  Ap- 
proximations to  the  truth  are  not  enough  to  satisfy  the 
young  mind.  Whenever  a  teacher  makes  a  blunder  by 
stating  what  is  not  true  in  regard  to  any  fact  or  principle 
in  science,  any  event  in  history,  or  any  item  of  statistics, 
he  lowers  himself  very  much  in  the  estimation  of  all 
those  who  are  capable  of  detecting  his  error.  If  he  does 
not  know,  he  may  frankly  say  so,  and  incur  no  just 
censure,  provided  the  point  be  one  about  which  he  has 
not  had  the  opportunity  to  gain  the  requisite  informa- 
tion. But  when  he  attempts  to  speak  with  the  author- 
ity of  a  teacher,  he  "  should  know  that  whereof  he 
affirms."  "  The  character  of  the  teacher,"  says  Pro- 
fessor Olmsted,  "is  sullied  by  frequent  mistakes,  like  that 
of  a  bookkeeper  or  banker.  It  is  surprising  to  see  how 
soon  even  the  youngest  learner  will  lose  his  confidence 
and  respect  for  his  teacher,  when  he  has  detected  in  him 
occasional  mistakes.  At  every  such  discovery  he  rises 
in  his  own  estimation,  and  the  teacher  proportionally 
sinks.  The  very  character  of  the  pupil  is  injured  by  such 
an  incident.  He  rapidly  loses  the  docility  and  modesty 
so  essential  to  the  scholar,  and  becomes  uplifted  with 
pride  and  selfc-importance."  The  superciliousness  thus 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  279 

induced  becomes  a  sore  vexation  to  the  teacher.  He 
finds  that  his  pupils  are  watching  for  his  halting  ;  and  he 
frequently  fails,  from  this  very  circumstance,  to  do  as 
well  as  he  might.  I  know  of  no  more  pitiable  condition 
on  earth  than  that  of  a  teacher,  who  is  attempting  to 
teach  what  he  does  not  fully  understand,  while  he  is 
conscious  that  his  pupils  doubt  his  ability  from  a  fre- 
quent detection  of  his  mistakes. 

V.  A  Pleasant  Face. — Cultivate  a  pleasant  counte- 
nance. Frowns  and  scowls  always  sit  with  ill  grace  upon 
the  teacher's  brow.  I  know  that  the  trials  and  perplexi- 
ties incident  to  his  daily  life  are  eminently  fitted  "  to 
chafe  his  mood  "  and  to  provoke  his  impatience.  I  know, 
too,  that  protracted  confinement  from  the  pure  air  and 
the  bright  sunlight  will  almost  necessarily  render  the 
nervous  system  morbidly  sensitive,  and  the  temper  of 
course  extremely  irritable.  The  outward  exponent  of  all 
this  is  a  dejected  and  perhaps  an  angry  countenance. 
The  eyebrows  are  drawn  up  so  that  the  forehead  is 
deeply  and  permaturely  furrowed,  while  the  angles  of 
the  mouth  are  suffered  to  drop  downward  as  if  in  token 
of  utter  despair.  By  and  by  the  roguishness  of  some 
unlucky  urchin  disturbs  the  current  of  his  thoughts, 
and  suddenly  the  brow  is  firmly  knitted  with  transverse 
channels,  the  nostrils  are  distended,  the  jaws  are  firmly 
closed,  the  lips  are  compressed,  the  cheeks  are  flushed, 
and  the  eyes  almost  emit  sparks  from  the  pent-up  fire 
within  him.  For  the  next  half-hour  he  frowns  on  all 
about  him.  The  children  at  first  are  awed  by  such  a 
threatening  aspect ;  but  soon  they  become  accustomed 
to  it,  and  the  terrible  very  naturally  gives  place  to  the 
ridiculous. 


2SD  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Wrong  to  Frown. — No  man  has  a  moral  right  to 
render  those  uncomfortable  who  surround  him  by  habitu- 
ally covering  his  face  with  the  looks  of  discontent  and 
moroseness.  It  is  peculiarly  wrong  for  the  teacher  to  do 
it.  It  is  for  him  to  present  an  example  of  self-govern- 
ment under  all  circumstances,  so  that  he  can  consistently 
enforce  the  duty  of  self-control  upon  the  young.  It  is 
for  him  to  show  himself  a  man  of  principle,  of  benevo- 
lence, of  cheerful  devotion  to  his  duty,  however  full  of 
trials  that  duty  may  be  ;  and  in  no  way  can  he  do  this 
more  effectually  than  by  an  amiable  and  engaging  coun- 
tenance. A  peevish,  frowning  teacher  is  very  likely  to 
produce  petulance  and  sullenness  in  his  pupils ;  while  a 
cordial  smile,  like  the  genial  beam  of  the  spring-day  sun, 
not  only  sheds  a  welcome  light  on  all-around,  but  im- 
parts a  blessed  heat,  which  penetrates  the  frigidity  of  the 
heart,  dissipates  the  cheerless  mists  that  hover  there,  and 
warms  the  generous  affections  into  life  and  beauty. 

Sympathy  Between  the  Heart  and  the  Countenance. 
—We  are  so  constituted  that  the  inward  and  the  outward 
sympathize  -w'.th  each  other.  Solomon  says  "  a  merry 
heart  maketh  a  cheerful  countenance ;"  and,  I  may 
venture  to  add,  and  with  almost  as  much  truth,  a  cheer- 
ful countenance  maketh  a  merry  Jieart.  An  honest 
attempt  to  bless  others  with  the  sight  of  a  countenance 
that  is  expressive  of  content  and  patience,  is  an  ace  so 
praiseworthy  in  itself  that  it  will  never  go  unrewarded. 
The  gratifying  response  which  such  a  countenance  is  sure 
to  call  forth  from  others  brings  w'th  it  a  rich  revenue  of 
inward  enjoymenc.  He,  theretore,  who  habitually  bears 
about  with  h«m  a  sad  or  an  angry  countenance,  while  he 
constantly  impairs  the  happiness  of  others,  lacks  at  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  281 

same  time  an  important  instrumentality  for  securing  his 
own. 

Means  Recommended. — But  the  question  will  arise, 
Can  a  man  gain  such  ascendancy  over  himself  as  to  con- 
trol the  expression  of  his  countenance?  I  answer,  with- 
out hesitation,  YES.  "  Whatever  ought  to  be  done,  can 
be  done."  It  is  not  perfectly  easy  to  do  it,  especially  for 
the  teacher.  Still,  self-control — full,  complete  self-con- 
trol— is  his  appropriate  duty  as  well  as  privilege.  He 
must,  as  Carlyle  quaintly  enjoins,  "  learn  to  devour  the 
chagrins  of  his  lot."  He  must  calculate  beforehand  that 
every  day  will  bring  its  cares  and  its  trials;  but  he 
should  daily  resolve  that  they  should  never  take  him  by 
surprise,  nor  betray  him  into  sudden  impatience.  Each 
morning,  as  he  walks  co  the  scene  of  his  labors,  he  should 
fortify  himself  against  sudden  anger  or  habitual  morose- 
ness  on  this  wise  :  "  No  doubt  this  day  some  untoward 
occurrence  will  transpire,  calculated  to  try  my  patience 
and  to  provoke  me  to  fretful  words  and  angry  looks. 
All  my  past  experience  leads  me  to  expect  this.  But 
this  day  I  will  cry  to  resist  the  temptation  to  this  weak- 
ness. I  will  try  to  be  self-possessed.  If  any  child  is 
vicious,  or  fretful,  or  dull,  or  even  impudent,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  show  that  I  can  command  myself.  If  I  feel 
some  angry  passion  enkindling  within  me,  I  will  stop 
and  tnink,  and  I  will  endeavor  10  smile  before  I  speak. 
If  I  can  to-day  gam  the  victory  over  impatience,  and 
can  maintain  an  even  and  cneerlul  temper,  and  express 
it  constantly  in  my  countenance,  it  will  be  easier  to  do 
it  to-morrow.  At  ail  events,  fit  iry." 

A  Victory. — Taking  hold  thus  in  earnest,  any  man 
may  soon  be  his  own  master.  He  can  gain  the  victory. 
If  he  can  do  it,  he  ought  tc  do  it.  Hence  I  urge  it  as  a 


282  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

duty.  Nor  is  it  merely  a  duty.  It  is  a  high  privilege. 
A  complete  victory  for  a  single  day  will  bring  its  own 
reward.  A  man  who  feels  that  he  has  risen  above  his 
temptation  can  return  to  his  rest  with  a  light  and 
happy  heart.  Sleep  to  him  will  be  sweet,  and  he  will 
arise  on  the  morrow  with  renewed  strength  for  the 
fresh  conflict ;  and  in  the  moral  as  well  as  in  the  literal 
warfare,  every  contest  which  ends  in  victory  gives  addi- 
tional strength  to  the  victor,  while  it  weakens  and  dis- 
heartens his  enemy. 

VI.  Art  of  Illustrating. — Study  to  acquire  the  art  of 
aptly  illustrating  a  difficult  subject.  Some  teachers 
content  themselves  with  answering  In  the  precise  lan- 
guage of  the  book  whenever  a  question  for  information 
is  propounded.  This,  however,  is  by  no  means  sufficient, 
even  when  the  language  of  the  book  is  strictly  accurate  ; 
much  less,  when  the  language  is  so  vague  as  to  convey 
no  definite  idea  to  the  mind,  either  of  the  learner  or  the 
teacher.  On  the  other  hand,  a  man  who  is  apt  to  teach 
will  devise  some  ingenious  method  of  enlightening  the 
mind  of  his  pupil,  so  that  he  shall  lay  hold  of  the  idea 
as  with  a  manly  grasp  and  make  it  his  own  forever. 

A  Lesson  in  Philosophy. — This  point  will,  perhaps,  be 
best  illustrated  by  an  example.  A  young  man  was  em- 
ployed to  take  charge  of  a  school  for  a  few  days  during 
a  temporary  illness  of  the  regular  instructor.  He  was 
a  good  scholar,  as  the  world  would  say,  and  was  really 
desirous  to  answer  the  expectation  of  his  employers. 
After  the  regular  teacher  had  so  far  recovered  his  health 
as  to  be  able  to  leave  his  room  he  walked  one  pleasant 
day  to  the  school,  to  see  what  success  attended  the 
labors  of  the  new  incumbent.  A  class  was  reciting  in 
natural  philosophy.  The  subject  under  consideration 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  283 

was — the  obstacles  which  impede  the  motion  of  machin- 
ery. The  attraction  of  gravity,  as  one  of  these,  was 
pretty  easily  disposed  of ;  for  the  class  had  before  been 
instructed  on  that  point.  Friction  came  next.  Here, 
too,  the  pupils,  having  had  some  practical  experience  of 
their  own,  in  dragging  their  sleds,  in  skating,  or  perhaps 
in  turning  a  grindstone,  found  no  great  difficulty.  The 
book  spoke  a  language  sufficiently  clear  to  be  under- 
stood. Next  came  the  "  resistance  of  the  various  media," 
to  use  the  language  of  the  text-book.  "  Yes,"  said  the 
teacher,  as  one  of  the  pupils  gravely  quoted  this  lan- 
guage, "  that  has  no  inconsiderable  effect." 

Media. — "The  resistance  of  the  various  media?"  re- 
peated one  of  the  boys  inquiringly ;  "  I  do  not  know  as  I 
understand  what  media  means." 

"  A  medium  is  that  in  which  a  body  moves,"  was  the 
ready  reply  which  the  teacher  read  from  the  book. 

Pupil.  "A  medium?" 

Teacher.  "  Yes  ;  we  say  medium  when  we  mean  but 
one,  and  media  when  we  mean  more  than  one." 

Pupil.  "  When  we  mean  but  one  ?" 

Teacher.  "Yes;  medium  is  singular — media  is  plural." 

After  this  discussion,  which  began  in  philosophy  but 
ended  in  grammar,  the  teacher  was  about  to  proceed  with 
the  next  question  of  the  book.  But  the  scholar  was  not 
yet  satisfied,  and  he  ventured  to  press  his  inquiries  a 
little  further. 

Pupil.  "Is  this  room  a  medium  ?  " 

Teacher.  "  This  room  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  Yes,  sir ;  you  said  that  a  medium  was  '  that  in 
which  anybody  moves,'  and  we  all  move  in  this  room." 

Teacher.  "Yes,  but  medium  does  not  mean  a  room ;  it 
is  the  substance  in  which  a  body  moves." 


284  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

Here  the  lad  looked  perplexed  and  unsatisfied.  He 
had  no  clear  idea  of  the  meaning  of  this  new  term.  The 
teacher  looked  at  his  watch,  and  then  glanced  at  the  re- 
maining pages  of  the  lesson,  and  seemed  impatient  to 
proceed — so  the  pupil  forbore  to  inquire  further. 

The  regular  teacher,  who  had  listened  to  the  discussion 
with  no  ordinary  interest,  both  because  he  admired  the 
inquisitiveness  of  the  boy,  and  because  he  was  curious  to 
discover  how  far  the  new  incumbent  possessed  the  power 
of  illustration,  here  interposed. 

"John," — taking  his  watch  in  his  hand — "would  this 
watch  continue  to  go  if  I  should  drop  it  into  a  pail  of 
water?" 

"  I  should  think  it  would  not  long,"  said  John,  after  a 
little  reflection. 

"  Why  not?  "  said  his  teacher,  as  he  opened  his  watch. 

•k  Because  the  water  would  get  round  the  wheels  and 
stop  it,  I  should  think,"  said  John. 

"  How  would  it  be  if  I  should  drop  it  into  a  quart  of 
molasses?" 

The  boys  laughed. 

"  Or  into  a  barrel  of  tar  ?  " 

The  boys  still  smiled. 

"  Suppose  I  should  force  it,  while  open,  into  a  quantity 
of  lard  ? " 

Here  the  boys  laughed  heartily,  while  John  said  "the 
watch  would  not  go  in  any  of  these  articles."' 

•'  Articles  ?  "  said  his  teacher  ;  "  why  not  say  media  T  " 

John's  eye  glistened  as  he  caught  the  idea.  "  Oh,  I 
understand  it  now  !  " 

His  teacher  then  said  that  many  machines  worked  in 
air, — then  the  air  was  the  medium.  A  fish  swims  in 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  285 

water, — water  is  his  medium.  A  fish  could  hardly  swim 
in  molasses  or  tar.  '*  Now,"  inquired  he,  "  why  not  ?  " 

'  Because  of  the  resistance  of  the  medium,"  said  John, 
with  a  look  of  satisfaction. 

'  Now  why  will  the  watch  go  in  air  and  not  in 
water?" 

"  Because  the  water  is  more  dense,"  said  John 
promptly. 

"Then  upon  what  does  the  resistance  of  a  medium 
depend  ? " 

Here  the  new  teacher  interposed,  and  said  that  was 
the  next  question  in  the  book,  and  he  was  just  going  to 
ask  it  himself.  The  regular  teacher  put  his  watch  into 
his  pocket  and  became  a  spectator  again,  and  the  lesson 
proceeded  with  unwonted  vivacity. 

The  Difference. — The  difference  between  these  two 
teachers  mainly  consisted  in  the  fact  that  one  had  the 
ingenuity  to  devise  an  expedient  to  meet  a  difficulty 
whenever  occasion  required, — the  other  had  not. 

Study  Expedients. — Now  in  order  to  teach  well,  a 
man  should  diligently  seek  for  expedients.  He  should 
endeavor  to  foresee  the  very  points  where  the  learner 
will  stumble,  and  provide  himself  with  the  means  of  ren- 
dering timely  aid.  If  an  object  cannot  be  described  in 
words,  let  it  be  compared  with  what  it  resembles,  or 
with  what  it  contrasts.  If  it  be  an  object  of  sense  and 
words  and  comparisons  fail  to  describe  it, — in  the  ab- 
sence of  apparatus  to  represent  it,  let  the  teacher  spring 
to  the  black-board  and  execute  a  hasty  drawing  of  it.  In 
this  way  the  construction  or  the  working  of  a  machine, 
the  form  of  a  bone  or  the  action  of  a  joint,  the  shape  of 
a  town  or  the  plan  of  a  building, — in  short,  almost  every 
subject  that  involves  the  relation  of  form,  size,  proper- 


286  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

tion,  quantity,  or  number,  will  admit  of  visible  illustra- 
tion. He  is  the  successful  teacher  who  is  able  at  the 
moment  to  seize  upon  the  best  expedient  and  render  it 
subservient  to  his  purpose. 

VII.  A  Moral  Impression. —  Take  advantage  of  un- 
usual occurrences  to  make  a  moral  or  religious  impression. 
In  a  former  chapter  I  have  urged  it,  as  a  part  of  the 
teacher's  work,  to  cultivate  and  strengthen  both  the  moral 
sentiments  and  the  religious  feelings  of  the  members  of 
his  school.  This  is  not  most  effectually  done  by  a  formal 
mode  of  speaking  to  them  on  these  subjects.  If  a  par- 
ticular hour  is  set  apart  for  formal  lectures  on  their  duty 
to  their  fellow-men  and  their  obligations  to  God,  they  are 
very  apt  to  fortify  their  sensibilities  against  the  most 
faithful  appeals,  and  thus  render  them  powerless.  »  The 
wise  teacher  will  watch  for  the  fit  opportunity,  and,  just 
at  the  moment  when  the  heart  is  prepared  by  some  suit- 
able occurrence, — when  by  some  exhibition  of  the  Crea- 
tor's power  it  is  awed  into  reverence,  or  softened  into 
submission  ;  or  by  some  display  of  His  goodness  it  is 
warmed  into  gratitude,  or  animated  with  delight, — with 
a  few  words,  seasonably  and  "  fitly  spoken,"  he  fixes  the 
impression  forever.  Speaking  at  the  right  time,  every 
ear  listens  and  every  heart  feels. 

The  Fit  Occasion. — Perhaps  many  of  my  readers  can 
revert  to  some  season  in  their  childhood,  endeared  to 
them  by  a  precious  recollection  of  golden  words  thus 
opportunely  uttered — words  fraught  with  truth  which  in 
after-life  has  had  an  unspeakable  influence  in  the  forma- 
tion of  their  character.  One  or  two  examples  connected 
with  my  own  experience  may  be  presented,  more  fully 
to  illustrate  my  meaning;  while  at  the  same  time  they 
may  afford,  it  is  hoped,  some  valuable  hints  for  the  en- 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  287 

couragement  and  guidance  of  such  young  teachers  as 
desire  in  this  way  to  make  themselves  the  instruments 
of  lasting  benefits  to  the  young. 

EXAMPLE  I. 

A  Thunder  Storm. — I  can  never  forget — nor  would  I 
if  I  could — a  lesson  impressed  upon  my  own  youthful 
mind,  conveying  the  truth  that  we  are  constantly  de- 
pendent upon  our  Heavenly  Father  for  protection.  In 
a  plain  country  school-house,  some  twenty-five  children, 
including  myself,  were  assembled  with  our  teacher  on 
the  afternoon  of  a  summer's  day.  We  had  been  as 
happy  and  as  thoughtless  as  the  sportive  lambs  that 
cropped  the  clover  of  the  neighboring  hillside.  En- 
grossed with  study  or  play — for  at  this  distance  of  time 
it  is  impossible  to  tell  which, — we  had  not  noticed  the 
low  rumbling  of  the  distant  thunder,  till  a  sudden  flash 
of  lightning  arrested  our  attention.  Immediately  the 
sun  was  veiled  by  the  cloud,  and  a  corresponding  gloom 
settled  upon  every  face  within.  The  elder  girls,  with 
the  characteristic  thoughtfulness  of  woman,  hastily  in- 
quired whether  they  should  not  make  the  attempt  to 
lead  their  younger  brothers  and  sisters  to  the  paternal 
roof  before  the  bursting  of  the  storm.  For  a  moment 
our  little  community  was  thrown  into  utter  confusion. 
The  teacher  stepped  hastily  to  the  door  to  survey  more 
perfectly  the  aspect  of  the  western  heavens.  Immedi- 
ately returning,  he  signified  to  the  children  that  there 
would  not  be  time  for  them  to  reach  their  homes  before 
the  tempest  would  be  upon  them.  Oppressed  with 
dread, — for  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  children  in  the 
country  to  be  terrified  by  lightning, — some  of  the 
youngest  of  us  clung  to  our  older  brothers  or  sisters, 


288  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

while  others,  being  the  sole  representatives  of  their 
family  in  the  school,  for  the  first  time  felt  their  utter 
loneliness  in  the  midst  of  strangers,  and  gave  utterance 
to  their  feelings  in  audible  sighs  or  unequivocal  sobs. 

Teacher's  Self-possession. — The  teacher,  meanwhile, 
with  an  exemplary  calmness  and  self-possession,  closed 
the  windows  and  the  doors,  and  then  seated  himself 
quite  near  the  younger  pupils  to  await  the  result.  The 
thick  darkness  gathered  about  us,  as  if  to  make  the 
glare  of  the  lightning,  by  contrast,  more  startling  to  our 
vision  ;  while  the  loud  thunder  almost  instantly  followed, 
as  it  were  the  voice  of  God.  The  wind  howled  through 
the  branches  of  a  venerable  tree  near  by,  bending  its 
sturdy  trunk,  and  threatening  to  break  asunder  the 
cords  which  bound  it  to  its  mother  earth.  An  angry 
gust  assailed  the  humble  building  where  we  were  shel- 
tered ;  it  roared  down  the  capacious  chimney,  violently 
closed  a  shutter  that  lacked  a  fastening  breaking  the 
glass  by  its  concussion,  and  almost  forced  in  the  frail 
window-sashes  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  room.  Quicker 
and  more  wild  the  lightnings  glared — flash  after  flash — 
as  if  the  heavens  were  on  fire  ;  louder  and  nearer  the 
thunder  broke  above  our  heads,  while  the  inmates  of  the 
room,  save  the  teacher,  were  pale  with  terror. 

Awful  Pause. — At  this  moment  there  was  a  sudden 
cessation  of  the  war  of  elements--— a  hush— almost  a  pro- 
phetic pause  !  It  was  that  brief  interval  which  precedes 
the  falling  torrent.  A  dread  stillness  reigned  within 
the  room.  Every  heart  beat  hurriedly,  and  every  coun- 
tenance told  the  consternation  that  v/as  reigning  within. 
It  war  an  awful  moment ! 

Teacher's  Words. — With  a  calm  voice,  breathing  a 
subdued  and  confiding  spirit,  the  teacher  improved  this 


MISCELLANEOUS   SUGGESTIONS.  289 

opportunity  to  impress  upon  our  young  minds  a  great 
truth.  "  Fear  not,  children,"  said  he  ;  "it  is  your  Heavenly 
Father  that  sends  the  storm  as  well  as  the  sunshine  and 
the  gentle  breeze.  You  have  been  just  as  much  in  His 
power  all  day  as  you  are  at  this  moment.  He  has  been 
as  near  you,  supporting  you,  supplying  you  with  breath, 
with  life,  all  through  the  pleasant  morning  ;  but  then  you 
did  not  see  Him.  He  is  just  as  able  to  protect  you  now, 
for  '  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without  His 
notice,' — and  He  ruleth  the  storm  an4  '  rideth  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind.  We  should  ever  feel  willing  to  trust 
Him  ;  for  He  is  ever  able  to  grant  us  deliverance  from  all 
our  dangers.  God  is  here  now  to  protect  us." 

After  Rain,  Sunshine. — Just  as  he  had  finished  these 
words,  the  rain  began  to  fall.  First  the  drops  were  few 
and  scattered ;  but  soon  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
opened,  and  the  thirsty  ground  was  abundantly  satisfied. 
The  sound  of  the  thunder  became  fainter  and  fainter  as 
the  cloud  passed  away ;  the  sun  burst  out  again  in  re- 
newed splendor ;  the  full  drops  glittered  in  his  beams 
upon  the  grass ;  the  birds  began  their  songs ;  the  rainbow 
spanned  the  eastern  hills  ;  and  our  hearts,  taught  by  the 
timely  instructions  of  a  good  man,  began  to  expand  with 
eager  gratitude  for  our  preservation  by  the  hand  of  our 
Heavenly  Father. 

The  Bible  Speaks. — The  remainder  of  the  afternoon 
passed  happily  away,  and  when  our  books  were  laid 
aside,  and  we  were  ready  to  burst  out  of  the  room  to 
enjoy  the  refreshing  air  and  participate  in  the  general 
joy, — the  teacher,  taking  the  Bible  from  the  desk,  asked 
us  to  remain  quiet  a  moment,  while  he  would  read  a  few 
words  that  he  hoped  we  should  never  forget. 


290  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

The  passage  was  the  following,  from  the  65th  Psalm  :— 

By  terrible  things  in  righteousness  wilt  thou  answer  us,  O  God  of  our  salva- 
tion ;  who  art  the  confidence  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  of  them  that  are 
afar  off  upon  the  sea.  Which  by  his  strength  setteth  fast  the  mountains ;  being 
girded  with  power  :  which  stilleth  the  noise  of  the  seas,  the  noise  of  their 
waves,  and  the  tumult  of  the  people. 

They  also  that  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  are  afraid  at  thy  tokens  :  thou 
makest  tht  outgoings  of  the  morning  and  evening  to  rejoice. 

Thou  visitest  the  earth  and  waterestit:  thou  greatly  enrichest  it  with  the 
rirer  of  God,  which  is  full  of  water :  thou  prepares!  them  corn,  when  thou  hast 
•o  provided  for  it. 

Thou  waterest  the  ridges  thereof  abundantly :  thou  settlest  the  furrows 
thereof :  thou  makest  it  soft  with  showers :  thou  blesseth  the  springing 
thereof. 

Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness;  and  thy  paths  drop  fatness. 
They  drop  upon  the  pastures  of  the  wilderness:  and  the  little  hills  rejoice  on 
every  side. 

The  pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks:  the  valley*  also  ar«  covered  over  with 
corn  :  they  shout  for  joy,  they  also  sing. 

Words  Fitly  Spoken. — After  closing  the  book  the 
teacher  said  :  "  Go  out  now,  children,  and  witness  how 
perfectly  these  words  have  been  fulfilled  toward  us  this 
afternoon ;  and  from  this  day's  mercies,  learn  hereafter 
to  trust  God  as  confidently  in  the  storm,  when  He  dis- 
plays His  power  by  His  outward  '  tokens,'  as  when  He 
kindly  smiles  upon  you  in  the  beams  of  the  glorious  sun, 
or  gently  breathes  upon  you  in  the  morning  breeze." 

The  Effect. — We  went  forth  bounding  in  gladness  and 
gratitude,  and  saw  the  "  outgoings  of  the  evening  to  re- 
joice,"— "  the  pastures  clothed  with  flocks," — "  the  val- 
leys covered  over  with  corn," — "  the  little  hills  rejoicing 
on  every  side."  We  heard  also  the  general  shout  for 
joy ;  and  we  felt,  as  we  never  before  had  felt,  a  deep, 
thorough,  abiding  conviction  of  the  truth  that  God  is 
our  Father  and  our  Friend — the  GOD  OF  OUR  SALVA- 
TION. 

Blessed  Memories. — I  know  not  how  soon  these  im- 
pressions faded  from  tht  minds  of  the  other  children, 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTlO  291 

but  for  myself  I  can  say  that,  from  that  time  to  the 
present,  whenever  I  have  been  exposed  to  apparent 
danger  from  the  impending  tempest,  the  warring  ele- 
ments, or  the  ravages  of  disease,  the  teachings  of  that 
hour  have  always  revived  in  my  mind  to  soothe  my 
troubled  spirit,  and  to  reassure  my  faith  and  confidence 
in  the  presence  of  an  all-sufficient  and  merciful  Preserver. 
A  thousand  times  have  I  devoutly  blessed  the  memory 
of  that  faithful  teacher  for  having  so  early  and  so  hap- 
pily turned  my  thoughts  upward  to  HIM  in  whom  "  we 
live,  and  move  and  have  our  being." 

EXAMPLE  II. 

A  Dark  Day. — It  was  in  the  afternoon  of  a  gloomy 
day  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  when  the  pupils, 
consisting  of  some  fifty  boys,  belonging  to  a  school  in 
a  pleasant  seaport  town  in  New  England,  were  told  by 
their  teacher,  a  few  minutes  before  the  usual  hour,  that 
they  might  lay  aside  their  studies  and  prepare  for  dis- 
mission. During  the  early  part  of  the  day  there  had 
been  one  of  those  violent  southeast  rain-storms,  so  com- 
mon upon  the  seacoast  at  that  season  of  the  year.  It  is 
well  known  to  the  observing  mariner  that  a  storm  from 
the  southeast  never  continues  beyond  twelve  or  fifteen 
hours ;  and  when  the  violence  of  the  storm  abates,  it  is  a 
common  remark  of  the  sailor,  that  "  the  northwester  is 
not  long  in  debt  to  the  southeaster."  Previous  to  this 
change  of  wind,  however,  there  is  what  is  expressively 
termed  the  "  lull  of  the  storm  " — a  period  when  the  rain 
ceases  to  fall,  the  wind  dies  away  to  a  perfect  calm,  the 
barometer  is  suddenly  depressed,  the  clouds  hover  almost 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  shutting  out  the  light  of  the 
sun,  and  causing  a  cheerless  damp  to  settle  upon  every 


292  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

thing  terrestrial,  and  a  dreary  gloom  to  enshroud  the 
mind  itself.  When  the  wind  changes,  these  clouds  are 
not  gradually  dissolved  and  broken  up,  so  that  the  eye 
can  catch  transient  glimpses  of  the  blue  sky  beyond,  as 
after  a  snow-storm  in  winter  ;  but  the  dark  drapery  is 
suddenly  lifted  up,  as  if  by  an  unseen  hand,  and  the 
western  sky,  from  the  horizon  upwards,  is  left  more  bright 
and  more  charming  than  ever,  to  refresh  the  eye  and 
reanimate  the  soul. 

Early  Dismission. — It  was  such  a  day,  as  before  re- 
marked, when  the  pupils  of  this  school — partly  because  of 
the  darkness  in  the  schoolroom,  and  partly  because  of 
their  protracted  confinement  within  a  close  apartment 
during  a  gloomy  afternoon — were,  a  little  earlier  than 
usual,  about  to  be  dismissed.  The  pupils  all  seemed  to 
welcome  the  happy  release  that  awaited  them  ; — and,  in 
their  eagerness  to  escape  from  confinement,  they  very 
naturally  neglected  to  observe  their  accustomed  regard 
for  quiet  and  order  in  laying  aside  their  books.  It  was, 
however,  a  fixed  habit  with  the  teacher  never  to  give 
the  signal  for  leaving  the  room  till  all  the  pupils 
had  taken  the  proper  attitude  for  passing  out  with 
regularity,  and  then  had  composed  themselves  to 
perfect  silence.  On  this  occasion  perhaps  two  minutes 
passed  away  while  the  boys  were  gradually,  almost  im- 
patiently, bringing  themselves  to  a  compliance  with  this 
rule  of  the  teacher. 

Light  Breaks  In. — During  this  interval  of  waiting, 
the  cloud,  unperceived  by  the  teacher,  had  been  slowly 
raised  up  from  the  western  horizon,  just  in  time  to  allow 
the  setting  sun  to  bestow  a  farewell  glance  upon  the  sor- 
rowing world  at  his  leave-taking.  Through  the  Venetian 
blinds  that  guarded  the  windows  towards  the  west,  the 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS.  2!»:; 

celestial  light  gleamed  athwart  the  apartment,  and  painted 
the  opposite  wall,  in  front  of  the  pupils,  with  streaks  of 
burnished  gold  !  In  an  instant  every  countenance  was 
changed.  A  smile  now  joyously  played  where  before 
sadness  and  discontent  had  held  their  afcoody  reign. 
The  teacher  was  reminded,  by  all  these  circumstances,  of 
the  beautiful  language  of  the  prophet,  which  promised 
the  gift  of  "  i\\Q  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heavi- 
ness" What  could  be  more  appropriate  on  this  occasion 
than  a  song  of  praise  ?  Without  speaking  a  single  word, 
the  teacher  commenced  one  of  the  little  songs  already 
familiar  to  the  whole  school : 

Lo  the  heavens  are  breaking, 

Pure  and  bright  above  ; 
Life  and  light  awaking, 

Murmur— God  is  love. 

GOD  is  LOVE. 

Round  yon  pine-clad  mountain. 

Flows  a  golden  flood  ; 
Hear  the  sparkling  fountain, 

Whisper—  God  is  good. 
GOD  is  GOOD. 

Wake,  my  keart,  and  springing. 

Spread  thy  wings  above,— 
Soaring  still  and  singing, 

God  is  ever  food. 

GOD  is  GOOD. 

An  Impression.— Instantly  every  voice  that  had  ever 
sung  now  uttered  heartfelt  praise.  The  attendant  cir- 
cumstances, taken  at  the  happy  moment,  furnished  such 
an  impressive  commentary  upon  the  import  of  the  words, 
that  they  were  felt,  as  they  never  before  had  been  felt,  to 
be  the  words  of  precious  truth.  Every  heart  throbbed  in 
unison  with  the  sentiment.  At  the  close  of  the  song 
there  was  profound  silence  in  the  room.  After  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  during  which  the  truth  that  God  is  good 


294  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

seemed  to  pervade  each  mind  and  hold  it  in  silent  rever- 
ence;  the  signal  for  departure  was  given.  One  after  an- 
other the  boys  passed  fronts  their  seats  with  a  light  and 
careful  step,  as  if  noise  and  haste  would  be  a  desecration 
both  of  the  time  and  place  ;  and  when  they  reached  the 
open  air,  refreshing  and  exhilarating  as  it  was,  there  was 
no  boisterous  shout,  no  rude  mirth  ;  each  took  his  home- 
ward course,  apparently  with  a  new  and  lively  conviction 
that  GOD  is  GOOD. 

Teacher's  Satisfaction. — It  has  always  been  a  source 
of  pleasure  to  that  teacher  to  recall  from  the  "  buried 
past"  the  associations  connected  with  that  delightful 
hour  and  that  charming  song ;  and  it  has  been  among  the 
most  gratifying  incidents  of  his  experience  as  a  teacher 
to  hear  more  than  one  of  those  pupils  in  later  life  recur 
to  the  memory  of  that  day,  and  acknowledge  with  thank- 
fulness the  lasting  impressions  which  then  and  there  were 
made  upon  their  minds. 

Other  Occasions. — It  would  be  easy  to  furnish  exam- 
ples, to  almost  any  extent,  of  the  manner  in  which  this 
principle  has  been,  or  may  be,  carried  out  in  practice. 
The  degradation  of  an  intoxicated  person  who  may  pass 
the  school, — the  pitiable  condition  of  the  man  who  may 
wander  through  the  streets  bereft  of  his  reason, — any  in- 
stance of  sudden  death  in  the  neighborhood,  particularly 
of  a  young  person, — the  passing  of  a  funeral  procession,— 
in  short,  any  occurrence  that  arrests  the  attention  of  the 
young  and  enlists  their  feeling,  may  be  seized  upon  as 
the  means  of  making  upon  their  minds  an  impression  for 
good.  The  facts  developed  in  many  of  their  lessons,  too, 
afford  opportunities  for  incidental  moral  instruction. 
The  adaptation  of  means  to  ends, — the  evidence  of  de- 
sign and  intelligence  displayed  in  the  works  of  creation, — 


MISCELLANEOUS   SUGGESTIONS. 

the  existence  of  constant  and  uniform  laws  as  developed 
in  the  sciences,  all  furnish  the  means  of  leading  the  young 
mind  to  God. 

Pleasant  Retrospection. — That  teacher  will  enjoy  the 
richest  satisfaction  in  the  evening  of  life  who,  in  looking 
back  upon  his  past  experience,  shall  be  conscious  that  he 
has  improved  every  opportunity  which  God  has  given 
him  to  turn  the  youthful  affections  away  from  the  things 
of  earth,  to  seek  a  worthier  object  in  things  above. 


296  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER. 

Low  Pecuniary  Reward. — It  is  proverbial  that  the 
pecuniary  compensation  of  the  teacher  is,  in  most  places, 
far  below  the  proper  standard.  It  is  very  much  to  be 
regretted  that  an  employment  so  important  in  all  its 
bearings  should  be  so  poorly  rewarded.  In  New  Eng- 
land there  are  many  young  women  who,  having  spent 
some  time  in  teaching,  have  left  that  occupation  to  go 
into  the  large  manufacturing  establishments  as  laborers, 
simply  because  they  could  receive  a  higher  compensation. 
I  have  known  several  instances  in  which  young  ladies  in 
humble  circumstances  have  left  teaching  to  become 
domestics,  thus  performing  the  most  ordinary  manual 
labor  because  they  could  receive  better  pay ;  that  is,  the 
farmers  and  mechanics  of  the  district  could  afford  to 
pay  more  liberally  for  washing  and  ironing,  for  making 
butter  and  cheese,  for  sweeping  floors  and  cleaning 
paint,  than  they  could  for  educating  the  immortal  minds 
of  their  children  ! 

Driving  Pegs. — Nor  is  this  confined  to  the  female  sex. 
Young  mechanics  and  farmers,  as  well  as  those  employed 
in  manufacturing,  frequently  receive  higher  wages  than 
the  common-school  teacher  in  the  same  district.  Many 
a  young  man  who  has  only  genius  enough  to  drive  the 
pegs  of  a  shoe  in  a  regular  row,  and  skill  enough  to 
black  the  surface  of  the  article  when  it  is  completed, 
having  spent  but  a  few  weeks  in  learning  his  trade,  re- 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  297 

ceives  more  money  for  his  work  than  he  who,  after  hav- 
ing spent  months,  or  even  years,  in  gaining  the  requisite 
qualifications,  labors  to  polish  that  nobler  material,  the 
human  soul. 

Injustice. — The  injustice  of  this  becomes  more  appar- 
ent when  we  bear  in  mind  that  public  opinion  demands, 
and  justly,  too,  that  the  teacher  should  be  not  only 
gentlemanly  in  his  manners,  but  better  clad  than  the  mere 
laborer — thus  throwing  upon  him  a  greater  burden  with- 
out affording  him  the  means  of  sustaining  it.  The  female 
teacher  of  a  district  school,  in  order  to  be  respectable, 
must  be  much  more  expensively  dressed  than  the  domes- 
tic in  the  family  where  she  boards,  and  is  thus  compelled 
to  consume  most  of  her  receipts  upon  her  wardrobe, 
while  the  domestic  is  able  to  place  surplus  money  at 
interest  in  the  savings-bank.  This  injustice  has  so  often 
been  laid  before  the  people,  and  yet  has  been  so  long 
continued,  that  many  have  given  up  in  despair,  and 
abandoned  an  employment  that  has  yielded  so  little, 
choosing  rather  to  engage  in  that  lower  service  which  is 
so  much  better  paid. 

Living  by  Wits. — This  sufficiently  explains  why  so 
many  unqualified  teachers  have  been  found  in  our  com- 
mon schools.  Men  of  talents  and  ability,  being  tempted 
to  other  employments,  have  left  the  field  unoccupied  ; 
and  those  men  who  have  failed  to  gain  a  comfortable  liv- 
ing by  their  hands  have  been  allowed  to  try  the  experi- 
ment of  supporting  life  by  their  wits, — that  is,  by  becom- 
ing teachers ! 

Improvement. — Such  has  been  the  case  for  a  long 
time  past ;  and,  though  in  many  quarters  the  people  are 
beginning  to  open  their  eyes  to  their  true  interest,  and 
are  gradually  and  commendably  coming  up  to  their  duty, 


298  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

yet,  for  some  time  to  come,  the  pecuniary  compensation 
will  not  constitute  the  chief  reward  of  the  teacher.  If 
he  will  go  cheerfully  to  his  work,  and  find  his  daily  en- 
joyment in  his  daily  toil,  he  must  have  a  higher  object 
— some  more  elevating,  inspiring  motive  than  mere 
money-getting  The  chief  encouragements  of  the  faith- 
ful teacher  lie  in  another  direction. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  following  paragraphs  to  point 
out  some  of  these  encouragements ;  for,  having  in  the 
preceding  pages  required  very  much  at  his  hands,  I  feel 
that  it  is  but  just  that  he  should  be  invited  to  look  at  the 
brighter  side  of  the  picture,  so  that  when  he  is  ready  to 
sink  under  the  responsibilities  of  his  position,  or  to  yield 
to  the  obstacles  that  oppose  his  progress,  he  may  have 
something  to  animate  his  soul,  and  to  nerve  him  anew 
for  the  noble  conflict. 

I.  Means  of  Mental  Growth. —  The  teacher's  employ- 
ment affords  the  means  of  intellectual  growth.  If  a  man 
teaches  as  he  should  teach,  he  must  of  necessity  improve 
himself.  Teaching  understandingly  pursued  gives  ac- 
curacy. I  know  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be  a  mere 
schoolmaster — a  pedagogue,  without  any  self-improve, 
ment.  But  I  am  speaking  of  the  faithful,  devoted 
teacher — the  man  who  studies,  reflects,  invents.  Such 
a  man  learns  more  than  his  pupils.  Every  time  he 
takes  a  class  through  any  branch  of  study,  he  does  it 
more  skillfully,  more  thoroughly  than  before.  He 
brings  some  fresh  illustration  of  it,  presents  some  new 
view  of  it,  and  hence  takes  a  lively  interest  in  it  himself, 
and  awakens  a  new  zeal  among  his  pupils.  Measuring 
himself  by  his  new  success,  he  feels  a  consciousness  of 
growth,  of  progress.  This  consciousness  is  a  precious 
reward 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  299 

II.  Means  of  Moral  Growth. —  The  teacher's  employ- 
ment affords  the  means  of  moral  growth.  Brought  con- 
stantly in  contact  with  those  who  need  a  careful  guid- 
ance, he  feels  impelled  to  earnest  effort  in  order  to  obtain 
the  mastery  over  himself,  as  the  best  means  of  gaining 
complete  influence  over  others.  Studying  the  weak 
points  in  their  character,  he  is  constantly  reminded  of 
those  in  his  own ;  and  self-knowledge  is  the  first  step 
toward  self-improvement.  Beginning  in  the  feebleness 
of  inexperience,  he  bolsters  up  his  authority  at  first  by 
a  frequent  resort  to  force  ;  but,  as  he  goes  on,  he  finds 
himself  gradually  gaining  such  ascendency  over  the  vici- 
ous as  to  control  them  quite  as  effectually  by  milder 
means.  At  first,  easily  excited  to  anger  or  impatience, 
he  frequently  indulged  in  severe  language  when  it  was 
unnecessary ;  but  by  careful  discipline  he  has  learned  to 
"set  a  watch  before  his  mouth  and  to  keep  the  door  of 
his  lips.''  Encouraged  by  one  victory  over  himself,  he 
is  prepared  for  another.  Having  learned  by  self-discip- 
line to  control  his  outward  acts,  he  next  attempts  the 
mastery  of  his  thoughts.  He  soon  finds  that  his  moral 
power  over  others  is  very  much  increased.  Somehow — 
though  perhaps  he  cannot  yet  tell  the  reason  why — he 
finds  he  can  secure  obedience  with  half  the  effort  for- 
merly required ;  he  gains  the  love  of  his  pupils  more 
readily,  and  with  the  exception  now  and  then  of  an 
extreme  case,  he  finds  that  he  excites  a  deeper  interest 
than  ever  before  in  the  whole  round  of  duty  among  the 
scholars.  Why  is  this?  he  asks, — and  the  consciousness 
of  increased  moral  power  rising  up  within  him  is  a  source 
of  the  highest  satisfaction. _  Pecuniary  emolument  sinks 
into  nothing  considered  as  a  reward,  when  compared 
with  a  conscious  victory  over  himself. 


300  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

III.  Progress  in  the  Art  of  Teaching.—  A   conscious- 
ness of  improvement  in  the  art  of  teaching  is  another  reward. 
Such  improvement  will  follow  as  a  matter  of  course  from 
his  self-improvement  in  the  particulars  just  named.     As 
his  own  mind  expands,  he  feels  a  new  impulse  to  exert 
himself  to  interest  others  in  the  subjects  he  teaches.     He 
soon  comes  to  look  upon  the  work  of  instruction,  not  as 
a  mere  mechanical  business,  to  be  done  in  a  formal  way, 
but  as  a  noble  art,  based  upon  certain  great  principles 
that  are  capable  of  being  understood  and  applied.     He 
employs  all  his  ingenuity  to  discover  the  natural  order  of 
presenting  truth  to  the  mind, — to  ascertain  the  precise 
degree  of  aid  the  learner  needs,  and  the  point  where  the 
teacher    should    stop.     He   studies  carefully  the  proper 
motives  to  be  presented  as  incentives  to  exertion.     Inter- 
ested in  his  labor  as  a  great  work,  looking  upon  his  influ- 
ence as  telling  upon  all  future  time,  he  devotes  himself 
daily  with  new  zeal,  and  is  rewarded  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  nezv  success. 

IV.  Pupils'   Growth   of  Mind. —  The   teacher  is  per. 
mitted    also    to    witness    the    constant   growth    of  mind 
among  his  pupils.     I   say  constant,  because  the  teacher 
is  not  obliged  to  labor  without  seeing  immediate  results. 
The   minister  of   religion   may  sometimes  sow  the  seed 
of  the  Good  Word,  while  the  fruit  does  not  appear  for  a 
long  season.     Sometimes  a  spiritual  apathy  prevails,  so 
that  the   most  faithful  warnings   and   the  most  earnest 
appeals  seem  to  fall  powerless  upon  the  conscience  ;    and 
he  is  led  almost  to  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  break 
the  deathlike  slumber.     It  is  not  thus  with  the  teacher. 
His    labor    tells    immediately   upon    the    young    mind. 
Even  while  he  is  yet  speaking,  he  is  gratified  with  ob- 
serving the  soul's  expansion  as  it  grasps  and  assimilates 


THE   REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  301 

some  new  idea  which  he  presents.  From  day  to  day,  as 
he  meets  his  classes,  he  sees  how  they  go  on  from  strength 
to  strength — at  first,  indeed,  with  the  halting,  tottering 
step  of  the  feeble  babe,  but  soon  with  the  firm  and  confi- 
dent tread  of  the  vigorous  youth. 

"  They  Were  My  Pupils." — A  teacher  who  is  for  sev- 
eral years  employed  in  his  vocation  is  often  astonished  at 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  young,  who  come  to  him  as 
mere  children,  grow  into  men  and  women,  and  take  their 
places  on  the  stage  of  life  as  prominent  actors.  Some  of 
them  distinguish  themselves  in  the  arts;  some  become 
noted  for  their  attainments  in  science  ;  some  receive  the 
honors  of  office  and  become  leaders  in  civil  affairs ;  some 
gain  eminence  as  professional  men  ;  and  very  likely  a 
large  portion  of  them  are  engaged  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  honorable  industry.  Wherever  they  are,  and 
whatever  they  are,  they  are  now  exerting  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  the  community.  They  have  grown  up  under 
his  eye,  and  have  been  essentially  shaped  by  his  plastic 
hand.  He  looks  upon  them  almost  with  the  interest  and 
pride  of  a  father.  He  counts  them  as  his  jewels ;  and 
when  he  hears  of  their  success,  their  usefulness,  and  their 
honors,  his  heart  leaps  within  him,  as  he  thinks,  "they 
were  my  pupils"  Even  though  he  may  have  wasted  the 
strength  of  his  best  days  in  the  service,  what  a  reward  is 
t/iis  for  the  teacher  ! 

V.  Useful  Calling. —  The  teacher  has  the  consciousness 
of  being  engaged  in  a  useful  and  honorable  calling. 
What  though  he  may  not  become  rich  in  this  world's 
goods?  Who  would  not  prefer  above  houses  and  lands, 
infinitely  above  all  the  wealth  of  earth,  the  consciousness 
of  being  engaged  in  a  work  of  usefulness  ?  Man  was 


802  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

made  for  usefulness — and  who  would  not  desire  to  answer 
the  design  of  his  creation. 

Educates  Immortal  Minds. — My  pen  is  too  feeble  to 
attempt  to  portray  the  usefulness  of  the  faithful  teacher. 
Pic  educates  the  immortal  mind — wakes  it  to  thought 
—trains  it  to  discipline — self-discipline — moves  it  to 
truth  and  virtue — fills  it  with  longings  for  a  more  per- 
fect state,  and  sends  it  forth  to  exert  its  power  for  good 
through  all  coming  time  !  "  To  this  end,"  in  the  glow- 
ing language  of  Professor  Agnew,  "  he  communicates 
a  knowledge  of  letters,  opens  out  gradually  before  the 
child  the  book  of  Nature  and  the  literature  of  the  world  ; 
he  disciplines  his  mind  and  teaches  him  how  to  gather 
knowledge  from  every  source  ;  he  endeavors  to  impart 
quickness  and  retentiveness  of  memory,  to  cultivate  a 
refined  and  well-regulated  imagination  ;  to  task,  and  thus 
to  give  vigor  to  his  reasoning  powers.  He  points  out 
the  appropriate  objects  of  the  several  affections,  and  the 
proper  exercise  of  the  passions  ;  he  gives  lessons  to  con- 
science, derived  from  the  pure  fountain  of  God's  own 
Revelation,  and  teaches  him  to  subject  his  own  will  to 
the  Highest  Will.  He  instructs  him  in  the  various 
sciences,  and  thus  displays  before  him  worlds  of  wondrous 
interest,  and  invests  him  with  the  sources  and  means  of 
pure  enjoyment.  He  trains  him  for  the  sweet  sympa- 
thies of  social  life,  and  unfolds  before  him  the  high 
behests  of  duty — duty  to  himself,  his  fellow-creatures, 
his  family,  his  God. 

The  Infant  Becomes  a  Man.—"  Under  such  a  tui- 
tion, behold  the  helpless  infant  grown  to  manhood's 
prime — a  body  well  developed,  strong  and  active  ;  a 
mind  symmetrically  unfolded,  and  powers  of  intellection 
closely  allied  to  those  of  the  spirits  in  celestial  spheres  ! 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  303 

He  becomes  a  husband  and  a  father  ;  in  these,  and  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  he  performs  well  his  part.  Above 
all,  he  is  a  Christian,  with  well-trained  affections  and  a 
tender  conscience,  supremely  loving  God,  maintaining  a 
constant  warfare  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil 
• — growing  up  into  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ, 
and  anticipating  the  fulness  of  joy  and  pleasure  for  ever- 
more which  are  at  God's  right  hand.  The  time  of  his 
departure  at  length  arrives;  he  has  fought  the  good 
fight,  he  has  finished  his  course,  and  he  goes  to  obtain 
his  crown  and  to  attune  his  harp,  and  forever  to  dwell  on 
the  hills  of  light  and  love,  where  angels  gather  immor- 
tality. Oh,  what  a  transit — from  the  dependent  helpless- 
ness of  infancy  to  the  glory  of  a  seraph ;  from  mind 
scarcely  manifested  to  mind  ranging  over  the  immensity 
of  Jehovah's  empire,  and  rising  in  the  loftiest  exercises  of 
reason  and  affection  !  And  how  much  has  the  faithful 
teacher  had  to  do  in  fitting  him  for  tJie  blissful  mansions  of 
the  skies  /" 

No  Limits  to  Usefulness. — If  such  be  the  teacher's 
work,  where  is  the  limit  to  his  usefulness  ?  Yet  he  may 
do  this  not  for  one  merely,  but  for  scores,  or  even  hun- 
dreds. Eternity  alone  can  display  the  immeasurable, 
inconceivable  usefulness  of  one  devoted  teacher. 

Honorable — Why  ?— And  is  not  the  teacher's  calling 
honorable  ?  It  is — for  its  usefulness  makes  it  honor- 
able. To  scatter  the  light  of  truth  is  always  honorable. 
So  some  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  the  world  ever 
saw  have  believed,  and  have  illustrated  their  faith  by 
their  practice.  Confucius,  Socrates,  Seneca,  Aristotle, 
and  Plato,  were  specimens  of  the  teachers  of  ancient 
date.  Roger,  Ascham,  John  Milton,  Francke,  Pesta- 
lozzi,  Arnold,  and  a  host  of  others  have  adorned  the 


304  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

profession  in  later  times.  Yet  these  are  men  who  have 
taught  the  world  to  think.  Their  works  live  after  them, 
and  will  continue  to  live,  when  the  proud  fame  of  the 
mighty^  warriors  who  have  marked  their  course  in  blood 
shall  have  perished  from  the  earth. 

Our  Great  Men  Began  as  Teachers. — If  it  were 
necessary  and  not  invidious,  how  many  distinguished 
men  in  our  own  country  could  be  mentioned  who  have 
been  teachers  of  the  young,  or  who  are  still  engaged  as 
such  !  Besides  those  who  have  made  teaching  the  busi- 
ness of  their  lives,  how  many  have  been  temporarily 
employed  in  this  calling  !  Some  of  our  presidents,  many 
of  our  governors,  most  of  our  jurists  and  divines — in- 
deed, some  of  every  profession,  "  and  of  the  chief  women 
not  a  few" — have  first  distinguished  themselves  as  school- 
teachers. Well  may  teachers,  then,  regard  their  profes- 
sion as  an  honorable  one  ;  always  remembering,  however, 
that  "  it  is  not  the  position  which  makes  the  man  honor- 
able, but  the  man  the  position." 

VI.  Gratitude  of  Pupils. —  The  teacher  enjoys  the 
grateful  remembrance  of  his  pupils  and  of  their  friends. 
When  a  distinguished  writer  said,  "  God  be  thanked  for 
the  gift  of  mothers  and  schoolmasters !"  he  expressed 
but  the  common  sentiment  of  the  human  heart.  The 
name  of  parent  justly  enkindles  the  warmest  emotions 
in  the  heart  of  him  who  has  gone  out  from  his  native 
home  to  engage  in  the  busy  scenes  of  the  work-day 
world  ;  and  when  sometimes  he  retires  from  the  com- 
panionship of  new-made  friends  to  recall  the  picture  of 
the  past  and  the  loved  of  other  days,  to  think — 

14  Of  chfldish  Joys  when  bounding  boyhood  knew 
No  grief,  but  chased  the-gorgeous  butterfly, 
And  gatnbol'd  with  the  breeze,  that  tossed  about 
His  silken  curls—" 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  805 

how'sweetly  do  the  gentle  influences  of  home  and  child- 
hood, with  all  their  tender  and  hallowed  associations, 
come  stealing  over  the  soul !  The  world  is  forgotten  ; 
care  may  not  intrude  upon  this  sacred  hour;  objects  of 
sense  are  unheeded ;  the  call  to  pleasure  is  disregarded  ; 
—while  the  rapt  soul  introverted — transported — dwells 
with  unspeakable  delight  upon  its  consecrated  recollec- 
tion of  all  that  is  venerable,  all  that  is  sacred,  in  the 
name  of  PARENT.  At  this  favored  hour,  how  the  heart 
swells  at  the  thought  of  a  mother's  love !  The  smiles, 
the  kind  words,  the  sympathy,  the  counsels,  the  prayers, 
the  tears — how  fondly  the  memory  treasures  them  all  up, 
and  claims  them  for  its  own !  And  though  Death  may 
have  long  since  intruded,  and  consigned  that  gentle  form 
to  the  cold  earth,  rudely  sundering  the  cherished  bonds 
of  affection,  and  '.caving  the  hearthstone  desolate — 
though  Change  may  have  brought  strangers  to  fell  the 
favorite  tree,  to  remove  the  ancient  landmarks,  to  lay 
waste  the  pleasant  places,  and  even  to  tread  thoughtlessly 
by  the  humble  mound  that  marks  the  revered  spot  where 
"  departed  worth  is  laid  " — though  Time,  "  with  his  effac- 
ing fingers,"  may  "have  been  busy  in  obliterating  the  im- 
pressions of  childhood  from  the  mind,  or  in  burying 
them  deepfy  beneath  the  rubbish  of  perplexing  cares — 
still  the  true  heart  never  tires  with  the  thought  of  a  fond 
parent,  nor  ever  ceases  to  "  thank  God  upon  every 
remembrance  "  of  a.  pious,  devoted  mother! 

Teacher  next  to  Parents. — Thus  it  should  ever  be. 
Nothing  on  earth  should  be  allowed  to  claim  the  grati- 
tude which  is  justly  due  to  judicious  parents.  But 
the  faithful,  devoted  teacher,  the  former  of  youthful 
character  and  the  guide  of  youthful  study,  will  be  sure 
to  have  the  next  place  in  the  grateful  heart.  Whether 


306  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

the  young  man  treads  the  deck  of  the  noble  ship,  in  his 
lonely  watch,  as  she  proudly  walks  the  water  by  night — 
or  journeys  among  strangers  in  foreign  lands, — wherever 
he  goes,  or  however  employed — as  often  as  his  thoughts 
revisit  the  scenes  of  his  childhood,  and  dwell  with  inter- 
est upon  the  events  that  marked  his  youthful  progress, 
he  will  recur  to  the  old  familiar  schoolhouse,  call  up  its 
well-remembered  incidents — its  joys  and  its  sorrows — its 
trials  and  its  triumphs — its  all-pervading  and  ever-abiding 
influences,  and  devoutly  thank  God  for  the  gift  of  a 
faithful,  self-denying,  patient  teacher. 

Gratitude  of  Parents. — But  the  teacher  is  rewarded, 
also  by  the  gratitude  of  parents  and  friends.  Some  of 
the  sweetest  moments  a  teacher  ever  experiences  are 
those  when  a  parent  takes  him  by  the  hand,  and,  with 
cordial  sincerity  and  deep  emotion,  thanks  him  for  what 
he  has  done  for  his  child.  It  may  have  been  a  wayward, 
thoughtless,  perhaps  a  vicious  boy,  whom  kind  words  and 
a  warm  heart  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  have  won  back 
to  the  path  of  rectitude  and  virtue. 

Widow's  Gratitude.— I  have  seen  an  old  lady — and  I 
shall  never  forget  the  sight — bending  under  the  infirmi- 
ties of  age, — blind,  and  yet  dependent  mainly  upon  her 
labor  for  support,  invoking  the  richest  of  Heaven's  bless- 
ings upon  the  head  of  a  teacher,  who,  by  kindness  and 
perseverance,  had  won  back  her  wayward  grandson  to 
obedience  and  duty.  How  her  full  soul  labored  as  she 
described  the  change  that  had  taken  place  !  Her  emo- 
tion— too  deep  for  utterance  in  words — found  expres- 
sion only  in  tears  that  streamed  from  her  sightless  eyes ! 
She  felt  that  her  boy  was  again  a  child  of  hope  and 
promise,  and  that  he  might  yet  be  a  virtuous  and  a  use- 
ful man.  The  world  may  raise  its  empty  acclamation  to 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  307 

honor  the  man  of  power  and  of  fame  ;  it  may  applaud 
the  statesman  and  weave  the  chaplet  for  the  conqueror's 
brow,— but  the  teacher,  humble  and  obscure  though  he 
may  be,  who  is  the  object  of  the  widow's  gratitude  for 
being  the  orphan's  friend,  with  the  consciousness  of  de- 
serving it,  is  a  happier,  I  had  almost  said  a  greater,  man. 
Surely,  he  receives  a  greater  reward! 

VII.  Approval  of  Heaven. —  The  faithful  teacher  en- 
joys the  approval  of  Heaven.  He  is  employed,  if  he  has 
a  right  spirit,  in  a  heavenly  mission.  He  is  doing  his 
Heavenly  Father's  business.  That  man  should  be  made 
wiser  and  happier  is  the  will  of  Heaven.  To  this  end 
the  Son  of  God — the  Great  Teacher — came  to  bless  our 
race.  So  far  as  the  schoolmaster  has  the  spirit  of  Jesus, 
he  is  engaged  in  the  same  great  work.  Heaven  regards 
with  complacency  the  humble  efforts  of  the  faithful 
teacher  to  raise  his  fellow-beings  from  the  darkness  of 
ignorance  and  the  slavery  of  superstition  ;  and  if  a  more 
glorious  crown  is  held  in  reserve  for  one  rather  than 
another,  it  is  for  him  who,  uncheered  by  worldly  applause 
and  without  the  prospect  of  adequate  reward  from  his  fel- 
low-men, cheerfully  practices  the  self-denial  of  his  Master, 
spending  his  strength,  and  doing  with  diligence  and 
patience  "  whatsoever  his  hand  findeth  to  do  "  towards 
raising  his  fellow-beings  to  happiness  and  heaven. 

The  Teacher's  Epitaph.— It  is  such  a  teacher  that 
the  eloquent  and  gifted  Lord  Brougham  describes  in  the 
following  beautiful  language  : — 

"  He  meditates  and  prepares,  in  secret,  the  plans 
which  are  to  bless  mankind  ;  he  slowly  gathers  around 
him  those  who  are  to  further  their  execution  ;  he 
quietly  though  firmly  advances  in  his  humble  path, 
laboring  steadily,  but  calmly,  till  he  has  opened  to  the 


308  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

light  all  the  recesses  of  ignorance,  and  torn  up  by  the 
roots  the  weeds  of  vice.  His  progress  is  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  anything  like  the  march  of  the  conqueror  ; 
but  it  leads  to  a  far  more  brilliant  triumph,  and  to 
laurels  more  imperishable  than  the  destroyer  of  his 
species,  the  scourge  of  the  world,  ever  won.  Each  one 
of  these  great  teachers  of  the  world,  possessing  his  soul 
in  peace,  performs  his  appointed  course,  waits  in  pa- 
tience the  fulfillment  of  the  promises,  and  resting  from 
his  labors,  bequeaths  his  memory  to  the  generation 
whom  his  works  have  blessed,  and  sleeps  under  the 
humble  but  not  inglorious  epitaph  commemorating 
'  one  in  whom  mankind  lost  a  friend,  and  no  wan  got 
rid  of  an  enemy'  ' 

Cease  Repining. — In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  let 
the  teacher  cease  to  repine  at  his  hard  lot.  Let  him 
cast  an  occasional  glance  at  the  bright  prospect  before 
him.  He  deserves,  to  be  sure,  a  higher  pecuniary  re- 
ward than  he  receives  ;  and  he  should  never  cease  to 
press  this  truth  upon  the  community  till  talent  in 
teaching  is  as  well  compensated  as  talent  in  any  other 
calling.  But  whether  he  gains  this,  or  not,  let  him 
dwell  upon  the  privileges  and  rewards  to  be  found  in 
the  calling  itself,  and  take  fresh  encouragement. 

Magnify  His  Office — How. — The  apostle  Paul 
exhibited  great  wisdom  when  he  said,  "  /  magnify  mine 
office"  If  the  foregoing  views  respecting  the  importance 
of  the  teacher's  calling  are  correct,  he  may  safely  follow 
the  Apostle's  example.  This  is  not,  however,  to  be  done 
merely  by  boastful  words.  No  man  can  elevate  himself 
or  magnify  his  office  in  public  estimation  by  indulging 
in  empty  declamation,  or  by  passing  inflated  resolutions. 
He  must  feel  the  dignity  of  his  profession,  and  show  that 


THE  REWARDS  OF  THE  TEACHER.  309 

he  feels  it  by  unremitted  exertions  to  attain  to  the  high- 
est excellence  of  which  he  is  capable — animated,  in  the 
midst  of  his  toil,  chiefly  by  the  great  moral  recompense 
which  every  faithful  teacher  may  hope  to  receive. 

Moral  Recompense.  Final  Reward.— Let  every 
teacher,  then,  study  to  improve  himself  intellectually  and 
morally  ;  let  him  strive  to  advance  in  the  art  of  teaching ; 
let  him  watch  the  growth  of  mind  under  his  culture  and 
take  the  encouragement  which  that  affords ;  let  him  con- 
sider the  usefulness  he  may  effect  and  the  circumstances 
which  make  his  calling  honorable ;  let  him  prize  the 
gratitude  of  his  pupils  and  of  their  parents  and  friends, 
and,  above  all,,  let  him  value  the  approval  of  Heaven,  and 
set  a  proper  estimate  upon  the  rewards  which  another 
world  will  unfold  to  him  ;  and  thus  be  encouraged  to  toil 
on  in  faithfulness  and  in  hope,  till,  having  finished  his 
course,  and  being  gathered  to  the  home  of  the  righteous, 
he  shall  meet  multitudes,  instructed  by  his  wise  precept, 
and  profited  by  his  pure  example,  who  "  shall  rise  up  and 
call  him  blessed." 


310  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 


Theory  and   Practice  of  Teaching. 

QUESTIONS    AND    ANSWERS. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  Teaching  ? 

2.  In  the  expression  "  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teach- 
ing," what  is  meant  by  "  Theory  ?" 

3.  What  is  meant  by  "  Practice,"  in  the  same  expres- 
sion ? 

4.  Should   objects   be   frequently    used    in    teaching 
numbers  to  young  pupils  ?     Give  reason. 

5.  Which  would  you  teach  first,  long  division  or  short 
division  ? 

6.  Of  what  use  is  the  study  of  English  Grammar? 

7.  How   young   should   the    study   of    grammar   be 
commenced  ? 

8.  What    are    the    principal    methods    of     teaching 
children  to  read  ? 

9.  Of  what  do  these  methods  consist  ? 

10.  What  should  be  the  first  step  in  teaching  color  ? 

11.  Give  reasons  for  the  teacher  thoroughly  reviewing 
each  lesson  before  presenting  it. 

12.  What  kind  of  literature  should  the  teacher  read  ? 

13.  It  is  frequently  said  that  "  the  teacher  learns  more 
than  his  pupils."     Is  this  true  ? 

14.  Give  some  proper  incentives  to  study. 

15.  What  are  the  benefits  of  reviews? 


QUESTIONS.  811 

16    When  should  reviews  be  given? 

17.  What  should  reviews  cover? 

18.  To  what  extent  should  a  teacher  answer  questions? 

19.  To  what  extent  should   the   pupil   recite   in    the 
language  of  the  book  ? 

20.  What  is  the  value  of  illustrations  in  class  work  ? 

21.  How  is  good  language  principally  learned  ? 

22.  Given   the   subject,   "  George  Washington,"  show 
what  should  be  required  of  a  class  preparatory  to  a  writ, 
ten  composition. 

23.  Why   should    pupils    be    required   to    solve   many 
promiscuous  problems  ? 

24.  Why  is   it   objectionable   to    formulate  a  code  of 
rules  for  the  management  of  schools? 

25.  How  may  a  good  newspaper  be  made  serviceable 
in  teaching  geography  ? 

26.  (a)  How  would  you  show  objectively  to  a  class  of 
pupils  the   muscles   that   bend   the  lower  arm  ;  (b)  the 
muscles  that  bend  the  fingers  ? 

27.  Name  three  causes  of  disorder  in  school. 

28    Why  should  pupils  be  required  to  play  out  of  doors 
in  favorable  weather  ? 

29.  What  control  over  the  pupils  should  the  teacher 
exercise   with   reference   to  their   conduct   towards   the 
public? 

30.  To  what  does  an  excess  of  oral  instruction  tend  ? 

31.  In   drawing,  which   type    form  should  be  studied 
first?     Why? 

32.  In  what  does  good  order  in  the  schoolroom  consist? 

33.  (a)   Name   the   perceptive   faculties,     (b)   To   the 
cultivation  of  which  two  of  these  does  the  teacher  give 
most  attention  ? 


r.li       THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

34.  Name  a  purpose  of  an  examination  (a)  valuable  to 
the  pupil ;  (b)  valuable  to  the  teacher. 

35.  Why   should   persons   intending   to    teach    study 
'  Methods  of  Teaching  ?" 

36.  Give   two  characteristics  of  a  proper  question  for 
developing  work. 

37.  Why  is   a   brief  review  of    former   work   essential 
before  beginning  developing  work  ? 

38.  Give  two  means  of  securing  attention. 

39.  Give  three  means  of  holding  attention. 

40.  Illustrate   a   method    ot    teaching    reduction  of  a 
fraction  from  one  fractional  unit  to  another. 

41.  Why  should   not   a   teacher  habitually   read  the 
questions  from  a  text-book  for  the  pupils  to  answer  ? 

42.  What  is  the  meaning  of  drill  as  applied  to  school- 
room work,  and  how  long  should  it  be  continued  on  any 
given  topic? 

43.  Give  three  cautions  to  be  observed  by  teachers  to 
prevent  little  children  from  taking  cold. 

44.  How   may  drawing   or   sketching   be    utilized    in 
teaching  reading,  geography,  or  arithmetic? 

45.  What   faculty  of   the   mind   is   exercised   most  in 
solving  problems? 

46.  State  some  of  the  inferences  Mr.  Page  drew  from  a 
neglected  pear  tree. 

47.  Name  three  things  in  a  child's  education  for  which 
the  teacher  is  in  a  measure  responsible. 

48.  Explain  the  statement,  "  Knowledge  alone  is  not 
education." 

49.  A   pupil   asking  assistance  should    not  always  be 
immediately  aided.     Why  ? 

50.  Give  at  least  two  objections  to  making  many  rules 
for  school  observance. 


QUESTIONS.  813 

51.  Name  at  least  four  requirements  that  should  be 
made  of  pupils  in  oral  spelling. 

52.  Name    devices    for    noting    mistakes    in   written 
spelling. 

53.  Name  the  ends  sought  in  a  good  course  in  drawing. 

54.  What  should  be  the  desired  purpose  in  intellectual 
training  ? 

55.  In  education  what  powers  are  to  be  cultivated,  and 
in  what  order  as  regards  time  ? 

56.  (a)  In  what  does  the  pouring-in-process  of  educa- 
tion consist  ?    (&)  What  are  some  of  its  faults  ? 

57.  The  pupil  asking  assistance  should  not  be  frowned 
upon.     Why? 

58.  Name   requisites   in   the  teacher  for  good  govern- 
ment. 

59.  Name   two   of    the   advantages   claimed    for    the 
sentence  method  of  teaching   reading. 

60.  What   is   the  teacher's  only  effective    remedy  for 
useless  worry  ? 

61.  Mention   some   of   the   injurious  effects  of   home 
criticism  of  the  teacher. 

62.  What  study  should  be  taught  in  connection  with 
geography  ?     Why  ? 

63.  Name  four  personal  habits  that  should  characterize 
the  teacher. 

64.  Give  reasonable  means  of  securing  good  order. 

65.  From  a  series  of  concrete  illustrations  we  demon- 
strate the  fact  that  |-  is  larger  than  f ,  and  that  f  is  larger 
than  -j^j-.     What  general  truth  in  regard  to  fractions  is  to 
be  deduced  ?     What  power  of  the  mind  is  mainly  culti- 
vated in  such  an  exercise  ? 

66.  Why  should  teachers  adopt  plans  specially  adapted 
to  their  conditions  and  ability  ? 


314  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

67.  Should  a  teacher  limit  himself  to  teaching  what  is 
in  a  text  book  ?     Why  ? 

68.  How  can  teachers  interest  primary  pupils  in  their 
work  ? 

69.  How   can  the  table  of   linear  measure  be  taught 
objectively  ? 

70.  Mention  two  ways  of  teaching  morals  to  children. 

71.  Mention  two  great  objects  to  be  accomplished  in 
education. 

72.  In  primary  work,  to  what  mental  faculties  of  the 
children  should  the  teacher  most  largely  appeal? 

73.  What  points  should  receive  most  consideration  in 
the  study  of  history,  in  advanced  classes  ? 

74.  State  two  advantages  of  physical  culture. 

75.  How    should    swearing    on    the    play-ground    be 
treated  ? 

76.  Name   two   objects   which   should    be   sought  in 
teaching  reading  in  advanced  classes. 

77.  In  connection  with  what  study  should  phonics  be 
taught  ?     Why  ? 

78.  What  is  the  object  of  using  a  scale  in  map  drawing  ? 

79.  How   can  pupils   determine  the  direction  of  the 
slope  of  the  land  from  a  map  ? 

80.  Name  three   things  that   should    receive    special 
attention  in  oral  language  work,  that  cannot  be  taught  in 
written  work. 

81.  How  may  the  table  of   liquid   measure   be  taught 
objectively  ? 

82.  Name  the  powers  of  the  mind  which  are  developed 
and  strengthened  by  the  study  of  drawing. 

83.  Why   is   it   important    for  the   teacher    to   study 
children  ? 


QUESTIONS.  315 

84.  How  may  the   observing   powers   of   the  child  be 
cultivated  ? 

85.  Mention   three   ways   of   promoting   regularity  in 
attendance. 

86.  Upon  what  does  a  good  method  depend  ? 

87.  In  what  ways  may  knowledge  of  form  be  expressed  ? 

88.  What  is  meant  by  abstract  instruction  ? 

89.  Name  three  causes  that  make  some  children  dislike 
school. 

90.  Define  perception. 

91.  How  could  the  difference  between  i"  and  I  sec.  be 
explained  to  a  pupil? 

92.  Should    pupils  of  third   and  fourth  reader  grades 
memorize  a  portion  of  the  reading  lesson,  daily  ?     Why  ? 

93.  What  is  the  basis  of  the  science  of  education  ? 

94.  Mention   two  good   results  to  be  obtained  by  the 
use  of  supplementary  reading. 

95.  Why  should  the  pupil  not  be  taught  to  write  large 
numbers  during  his  first  year  in  school  ? 

96.  State  two  objections  to  the  self-reporting  system  in 
scholarship  and  deportment. 

97.  (a)  In  teaching  a  child  that  has  not  been  out  of  the 
United  States  the  geography  of  London,  what  faculty  of 
the   mind    is   principally   exercised  ?     (b)  In   comparing 
London  with   a   city  that   he  has   seen,  what  faculty  is 
principally  exercised? 

98.  Name  causes  of  tardiness  for  which  the  teacher  is 
responsible. 

99.  Mention  some  of  the  causes  of  listlessness  in  school. 

100.  What  is  a  good  school  ? 

101.  On  what  does  maintenance  of  order  during  class 
room  instruction  depend? 


816  THEORY  AND   PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

102.  Mention  valuable  educational  results  of  properly 
conducted  reviews. 

103.  How  can  ability  in  drawing  best  be  acquired  ? 
104:  (a)  Name  causes  of  tardiness  in  school  for  which 

parents  are  responsible.  (^)  Give  some  devices  to  secure 
their  co-operation  in  diminishing  tardiness. 

105.  Why  should  the  teacher  generally  avoid  sarcasm 
and  ridicule  when  reproving  or  criticising  pupils  ? 

106    Name  four  purposes  of  the  recitation. 

107.  What  results  should  we  seek  to  obtain  in  teaching 
penmanship? 

108.  Name  three  conditions  of  the  school-room  favor- 
able to  study. 

109.  How   can   a   sense   of    right    among    pupils    be 
promoted  ? 

no    Give  three  arguments  in  favor  of  oral  spelling. 


ANSWERS. 

1.  Teaching    is   guiding   a   pupil   in   those   exercises 
which,  performed  by  himself,  will  best  develop  his  powers. 

2.  The  word  "  theory  "  means  the  body  of  principles 
embracing  the  science  and  art  of  teaching. 

3.  Practice  means  the  skillful  application  of  rules  and 
methods  deducted  from  the  theory  of  teaching,  and  from 
cbstrvation  and  experience. 

4.  Yes ;  children  gain  ideas  most  rapidly  and  clearly 
by  perception 

5.  Long  division;  because  in  this  every  step  can  be 
indicated  by  figuies. 

6.  (i)  It  disciplines  the  mind — the  fundamental  object 
of  all  study.     (2)  It  gives  one  an  idea  of  the  correct  use 
of  language. 


ANSWERS.  317 

7.  No  definite  age  can  be  given  ;  but  not  until  the 
pupil  can  read  readily  and  understandingly. 

8.  The  alphabet  method,  the  phonic  method,  the  word 
method,  the  sentence  method. 

9.  The  alphabet  method  teaches  the  letters  first.     The 
phonic  method  teaches  the  sound  of  the  letters  before 
learning  the  names.     The  word  method  consists  of  learn- 
ing to  pronounce  the  word  before  learning  the  names  of 
the  letters.     The  sentence  method  consists  of  learning 
the  sentence  before  learning  the  words  or  letters. 

10.  To  ascertain  what  the  child  already  knows  concern- 
ing color. 

ir.  (i)  He  must  thoroughly  understand  a  subject  to 
teach  it  successfully.  (2)  No  teacher  can  do  his  best 
work  if  obliged  to  confine  himself  closely  to  the  text- 
book during  recitation. 

12.  (i)  A   good    daily  or  weekly  paper.     (2)   A  good 
school  journal  and  other  professional  literature.   (3)  Good 
general  literature  and  history. 

13.  It   is  true  of  any  successful  teacher;  for  to  be  a 
successful  teacher  one  must  be  a  constant  student.     And 
besides  the  technical  knowledge  gained  he  gets  the  best 
possible  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

14.  A  desire  for  knowledge.     The  pleasure  of  learning. 
A  desire  to  be  useful  and  intelligent  citizens.     A  desire 
for  the  commendation  of  teacher,  parents  and  friends. 

15.  To  more  thoroughly  fix  in  the  mind  the  lessons 
already  learned. 

16.  Every  day. 

17.  The    lesson    of    the   previous    day    in    particular, 
together  with  some  portion  of  the  book  previously  passed 
over. 


818  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

18.  The  teacher  should  never  answer  a  question  until 
convinced  that  the  pupil  cannot  work  it  out  for  himself. 
Frequently  by  a  word,  hint  or  question,  the  pupil  may  be 
put  on  the  right  train  of  thought  and  then  be  enabled  to 
work  out  satisfactory  answers  to  difficult  questions. 

19.  With  the  exception  of  fixed  tables,  dates,  declen- 
sions, conjugations,  etc ,  it   is   better    for   the   pupil   to 
express  the  ideas   learned    from   the   book   in    his   own 
language. 

20.  To  arouse  an  interest,  to  break  the  monotony  and 
better  hold  the  attention  of  pupils.     An  idea  brought 
out  by  an  illustration  becomes  more  firmly  fixed. 

21.  By    hearing    gcod     language,    by    reading    good 
language,  and  by  using  good  language. 

22.  To  make  an  outline.     To  arrange  the  heads  in  a 
logical  order.     To  amplify  the  heads.     To  join  the  parts 
into  a  whole. 

23.  To  ascertain  that  they  have  not  merely  memorized 
the  rules,  and  are  not  dependent  on  set  forms  of  solution. 

24.  Because  offences  that  involve  moral  guilt  do  not 
need  to  be  formally  forbidden,  and  offences  that  interfere 
with  the  success  of  a  school  or  with  the  interests  of  other 
pupils  may  be  made  obvious  in  the  administration  of  the 
school. 

25.  By  calling  the  attention  of  the  class  to  all  items  of 
interest  referring  to  topics  in  geography  under  considera- 
tion. 

26.  (a)  By  having  them  place  the  fingers  around  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  upper  arm  and  close  and  straighten  the 
elbow  joint,     (b}  By  having  them  clap  the  fingers  around 
the  fleshy  part  of  the  lower  arm,  and  close  and  open  the 
hand. 


ANSWERS.  319 

27    Inefficient   teachers,    unsuitable    accommodations, 
unpleasant  surroundings,  insufficient  work. 

28.  Because  after  sitting  in  the  schoolroom  the  system 
needs  pure  air,  and  the  body  active  exercise. 

29.  He  should  never  allow  them  to  annoy  the  public 
by   boisterous   or   uncivil   conduct.     He   should    induce 
respect  for  the  rights  and  property  of  others. 

30.  It  tends  to  cause  the  instruction  to  degenerate  into 
mere  talking,  to  looseness  of  statement  and  to  inaccuracy 
of  conception. 

31.  A  rectangular  prism.     Because  this  is  the  basis  of 
all  objects  having  straight  lines  and  square  corners. 

32.  Intelligent     attention,     willing     obedience,    quiet 
movements. 

33    (a)  Seeing,     hearing,     smelling,     tasting,    feeling. 
(b)  Seeing  and  hearing. 

34.  (a)  It   enables   the  pupil  to  form   a  true  estimate 
of    his  knowledge,      (b)  To   furnish   data    for    recoids, 
reports  and  promotions  ;  to  enable  the  teacher  to  measure 
the  efficiency  of  his  own  work. 

35.  That  they  may  become  familiar  with  the  approved 
ideas  of  teaching,  and  derive  advantage  from  the  success- 
ful experience  of  others. 

36.  Should   be   expressed   in   language   the   class  can 
understand.     Should  generally  be  based  upon  previous 
answer. 

37.  To  ascertain  whether  the  subject  upon  which  the 
development  work  is  to  be  based  has  been  properly  undei- 
stood  and  learned.     To  have  subject  upon  which  develop- 
ment work  is  to  be  based  fresh  in  their  minds. 

38.  Be  interested  in  your  subject  and  in  your  pupils. 
Awaken  curiosity. 


320  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

39    Keep  pupils  interested.      Be  well    prepared.     Be 
animated. 

40.  Divide  circular  pieces  of  pasteboard   of  the  same 
size  in  different  numbers,  of  equal  parts.     Have  children 
take  one-half  of  one  unit  and  see  how  many  fourths  or 
sixths  of  another  unit  it  will   cover.     Children  should  be 
led  to  draw  conclusi9ns,  as  :  £=f  :  i— f  :  f=f ,  etc. 

41.  Destroys  pupils'  confidence  in  a  teacher. 

42.  (a}  Repetition  of  matter  previously  developed,  or 
repetition  of  matter  which  the  child  understands.     (£)  It 
should  be  continued  until  the  essential  facts  and  princi- 
ples are  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind. 

43.  (a)    Avoid    draughts.      (ft)  See   that   children    are 
properly  clothed  when  they  go  out  of  doors,     (c)  Do  not 
allow  children   to  remain  long  in  school-room  wearing 
damp  clothing. 

44.  A  sketch  of  the  object   named  by  a  word  may  be 
placed  upon  the  board  illustrating  the  subject  under  con- 
sideration. 

45.  The  reason. 

46.  Education  is  necessary  to  develop  the  human  soul. 
Education  should  begin  early.     It  should  be  right  educa- 
tion.    The  educator  should  be  a  safe  and  honest  man. 

47.  The   bodily  health,  the   intellectual   growth,    and 
moral  training. 

48.  Knowledge  may  be  a  possession  of  facts,  rules,  etc. 
Education  is  a  waking  up  of  the  mind,  arousing  the  mind 
totfhink,  awakening  its  powers  to  observe,  to  remember, 
to  reflect,  and  to  combine. 

49.  It  diminishes  self-reliance. 

50.  The   multiplicity   of   specific   rules   will   naturally 
lead  to  offences.     It  is  difficult  to  judge  acts  of  pupils 
by  fixed  laws.     The  rules  leave  the  teacher  no  discretion. 


ANSWERS.  321 

51.  To  pronounce  accurately  the  words  before  they  are 
spelled  ;  letters,  syllables  and  words  after  they  are  spelled. 

52.  Sometimes  have  monitors  examine  the  exercises 
and  mark  the  mistakes.     Have  the  teacher  or  a  pupil 
spell  the  words  correctly,  and  the  pupils  check  mis-spelled 
words.     Have  the  pupils  compare  the  written  exercise 
with  the  words  as  printed  in  the  book. 

53.  The  recognition  of   the  child's  individuality    the 
recognition  of  nature  as  a  part  of  the  child's  environ- 
ment, the  recognition  of  industry  and  art  as  parts  of  the 
child's  social  environment. 

54.  To  discipline  the  mind. 

55.  The  powers  of  the    mind,  body,  and  heart  simul- 
taneously. 

56.  (a}  It    consists   in   lecturing   children  upon  every 
subject   which   occurs   to   the   teacher,      (b)  The   mind 
becomes  a  passive  recipient,  taking  in  without  resistance. 

57.  It  disheartens  him  so  far  that  imaginary  difficulties 
become  insurmountable  and  he  gives  up  in  despair. 

58.  Self-government ;    a   confidence    in    his   ability  to 
govern  ;  decision  and  firmness. 

59.  It  is  a  natural  way.     The  attention  of  the  child  is 
directed  to  the  expression  of  the  thought.     It  makes  the 
child  thoughtful. 

60.  Earnest  preparation  for  class  instruction. 

61.  The  pupils  enter  the  school  with  their  faith  in  the 
teacher    unsettled.     This    lack    of    faith    lessens    their 
interest   in   their   work   and   not   infrequently   leads   to 
misconduct. 

62.  History.     Each  depends  upon  the  other  and  lends 
interest  to  it. 

63.  Habits  of  neatness,  order,  courtesy,  punctuality, 
and  correct  study. 


322  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

64.  Be  careful  as  to  the  first  impression  made.     Avoid 
exhibiting    or    entertaining    a    suspicious   spirit.     Give 
regular  and  full  employment.     Make  but  few  rules. 

65.  That  of  two  fractions  having  the  same  numerator, 
the   one  having  the  smaller  denominator  is  the  larger. 
The  reasoning  power. 

66.  Plans   and   methods    must    embody  the   teacher's 
ideals  and  be  adapted  to  his  individual  characteristics  and 
power. 

67.  No  ;  because   such  instruction  does  not  give  suffi- 
ciently broad  culture  and  knowledge. 

68.  By   giving   instruction   suited    to    their    age    and 
advancement. 

69.  By  giving  the  standard  unit  of  linear  measure  to 
develop   the   divisions   and   multiples   of    this    unit,    as 
expressed  in  the  table  of  linear  measure. 

70.  By  example,  and  by  precept. 

71.  The  development  and  symmetrical  training  of  the 
physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  powers  of  our  being. 

72.  The  perceptive  faculties,  memory  and  imagination. 

73.  Causes  and  results. 

74.  It  affords  healthy  recreation,  and  develops  strength 
of  body,  correct  position,  and  facility  of  movement. 

75.  The   pupil   should    not  be  permitted  to  associate 
with  others. 

76.  A  taste  for  reading  good  literature  ;  graceful  and 
forcible  expression  of  thought  ;  mental  discipline. 

77.  Reading.     Because   the   pupils  are    dealing   more 
with  sounds  in  that  subject  than  in  any  other. 

78-  To  enable  the  pupil  to  become  accurate  in  map 
drawing. 

79.  The  direction  in  which  the  rivers  flow  determines 
the  slope. 


ANSWERS.  323 

80.  Articulation;  accent  ;  fluency  in  speaking. 

8 1.  Use  the  measure  gill,  pt.,  qt.,  gal.,  etc. 

82.  Observation,    comparison,    imagination,    memory, 
reason. 

83.  To  learn  their  history,  their  development,  and  from 
these  to  ascertain  the  best  way  of  arousing  their  better 
powers  to  action. 

84.  By   having   him   closely  and  systematically  study 
familiar  objects  and  describe  them. 

85.  By  interesting  the  pupils,  by  interesting  the  parents, 
by  commending  regularity,  by  punishing  irregularity. 

86.  A  knowledge  of  the  pupil  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject  to  be  presented. 

87.  By  language,  by  construction  and  by  representation. 

88.  Instruction    without    the    use   of   illustrations   or 
objects. 

89.  Unkind  teachers,  poor  teaching,  unpleasant  school 
buildings. 

90.  It   is   the  act  of   the  mind  in  gaining  knowledge 
through  the  senses. 

91.  By  showing  objectively  that  one  inch  is  a  measure 
of  distance,  and  one  second  is  a  measure  of  time. 

92.  No.     Because  usually  the  material  furnished  in  the 
reading  books  is  not  of  sufficient  importance. 

93.  Knowledge  of  the  being  to  be  educated. 

94.  It  awakens  interest,  arouses  enthusiasm,  and  affords 
valuable  practice  in  the  use  of  words  of  the  same  grade. 

95.  The  pupil  has  no  occasion  to  use  large  numbers, 
and  fails  to  comprehend  them  when  written. 

96.  It  tempts  children  to  become  deceitful  and  untruth- 
ful ;  the  guilty  escape  punishment ;  the  innocent  pupils 
are    punished ;      both    are    wrongfully    judged    by    the 
teacher. 


334  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING. 

97.  (a)  Imaginatibn.     (b)  Judgment. 

98.  Lack   of   promptness   on    the  part  of  the  teacher 
in  all    school    work.     Lack    of    enthusiasm.     Want   of 
preparation. 

99.  Improper    ventilation.     Inadequate    attention     to 
preparatory  work  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.     Irregularity 
in  habits. 

100.  One  in  which  there  is  suitable  instruction  imparted 
by  the  teacher,  and  earnest  study  and  good  order  main- 
tained by  the  best  motives. 

101.  The  efficiency  of  the  teacher. 

102.  Familiarity  with  principles,  favorable   opportuni- 
ties for  the  backward  students  to  master  the  subject,  the 
deepening  of  impressions  upon  the  memory. 

103.  By  studying  the  principles  of  drawing  ;  by  copying 
drawings  ;  by  drawing  from  objects. 

104.  (a)    Failure    of    the    parent    to    appreciate    the 
importance  of  prompt  attendance  ;  lack  of  regularity  in 
home  life,     (b}  Sending  reports  of  attendance  to  parents  ; 
visiting  parents  and  explaining  the  importance  of  punc- 
tuality and  regularity  in  school  work. 

105.  Because  their  use  is  unjust,  and  tends  to  engender 
fear  and  hatred. 

106.  To  induce  study,  to  test  preparation,  to  cultivate 
expression,  to   ascertain   and   correct    errors,  to    become 
familiar  with  the  capabilities  of  the  pupil. 

107.  Legibility,  rapidity,  neatness. 

108.  Pure  air,  proper  temperature,  suitable  seats,  good 
light. 

109.  By  treating  them  as  equals,  respecting  their  rights, 
and  commending  worthy  actions. 

no.  It  teaches  correct  pronunciation,  syllabication, 
distinct  enunciation  and  trains  the  senses  of  hearing  and 
attention. 

' 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  DOWRY  FAOUTY 


000918443     3 


j 

*«£' 

• 

ft; 


